Torta Caprese – flourless chocolate and walnut cake

Torta Caprese is a classic flourless chocolate and nut cake from the Italian island of Capri. It’s traditionally made with almonds and Amaretto, but I’ve given mine a more homely twist, using walnuts and rum instead. There’s no flour or baking powder in this cake – finely ground walnuts take the place of the flour, while whipped egg whites give it plenty of lift. It’s intensely chocolatey yet lighter than a brownie, with a wonderfully moist centre and a crisp, delicate chocolate crust. Once baked, it’s simply dusted with icing sugar. Easy to make, utterly delicious and just the thing for a cosy autumn day :).

Ingredients for Torta Caprese:

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the walnuts and cocoa powder in a food processor. Blitz as finely as possible, taking care not to turn the walnuts (which are high in fat) into nut butter. You won’t be able to grind them into flour, but they can be made very fine – that’s what you’re after.

Place the butter in a small saucepan. Heat until melted, then remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate, leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool slightly.

Place the egg yolks and light brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat using the whisk attachment until lighter and creamy. Add the rum and mix to combine. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Add the ground walnuts and cocoa powder and mix again until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add them to the chocolate mixture in two batches – first add a small amount to loosen the mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites very gently.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Pour in the batter and bake at 160°C for approximately 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. A few moist crumbs of chocolate cake may cling to the skewer, but there should be no trace of raw batter. The cake will rise and develop some cracks as it bakes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool; once cooled, the centre of the cake will sink slightly.

Dust the Torta Caprese with icing sugar before serving. It can be served with whipped cream.

There is no need to store it in the fridge. It’s even more delicious the following day.

Enjoy!