Torta Caprese, a classic Italian flourless chocolate cake, is a decadent and rich dessert made with almond flour, dark chocolate, and eggs. This refined sugar-free and dairy-free version is just as delicious and easy to make as the original!
Table of Contents
- What is Torta Caprese?
- A Paleo Torta Caprese
- Tips for making this easy almond flour chocolate cake
- Ingredients
- How to make Torta Caprese
- Heat the oven and prepare the cake pan
- Melt the chocolate and fat
- Whip the egg whites
- Mix the flourless chocolate cake batter
- Fold the whipped whites into the batter
- Bake the cake
- Cool the cake
- How to serve Torta Caprese
- How do you store the cake?
- More paleo chocolate dessert recipes
- Torta Caprese (Almond Flour Chocolate Cake) Recipe
What is Torta Caprese?
Originally from the island of Capri, Torta Caprese combines ground almonds, melted chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs to create an elegant flourless chocolate cake. It resembles a flourless chocolate torte, but with a lighter texture; it’s not as dense as a torte, which lacks the whipped egg whites and almond flour.
There are conflicting stories about the origins of Torta Caprese—some say it was first made for the Austrian wife of the King of Naples who missed eating Sacher Torte, a popular Austrian chocolate cake; others say a chef created it by mistake when a tourist requested a chocolate almond cake and he baked one without wheat flour. Regardless of its history, this fantastic Italian chocolate almond cake is naturally gluten-free—and most importantly, it’ll knock the socks off anyone who tastes it. Torta Caprese is perfect for company: it’s simple to make (you won’t need to fuss with making separate layers and slathering on frosting) and you can bake it ahead of time.
And let’s be honest: the combination of dark chocolate and almonds is unbeatable.
A Paleo Torta Caprese
I’m forever trying to tweak dessert recipes to be a little bit healthier, but they still need to win over my toughest critics (especially my picky younger son, Ollie). By using coconut oil and coconut sugar in the ingredients, my almond flour chocolate cake recipe is paleo-friendly; it’s not just gluten-free, it’s also refined sugar-free and dairy-free. And it’s delicious!
Tips for making this easy almond flour chocolate cake
- Use a scale to measure your ingredients! Baked goods are like science experiments: you need accurate measurements for good results. That’s why I always measure out my ingredients on a kitchen scale.
- Whip the egg whites properly! There are no chemical leavening agents (e.g., baking soda or baking powder) in this cake—the structure and aeration relies on the whipped egg whites, so you gotta get this step right. Check that your mixing bowl and whisk are super clean, and make sure your egg whites are at room temperature and aren’t contaminated with any yolks. If you aren’t sure how to whip your eggs to stiff peaks, watch a video first! Then, when folding the whipped egg whites into the batter, do it carefully and gently or all of your hard work will be for nothing.
- Use high quality dark chocolate! This chocolate almond cake only has a few ingredients so quality matters. The best chocolate flavor comes from a chocolate bar you love eating!
- Don’t overbake the cake! It’s better to err on the side of underbaking than overbaking so start checking your cake at the 35 minute mark. When a toothpick is inserted into the center of the cake, there should be a few moist crumbs that cling to it. You don’t want to bake the cake until it’s completely dry.
Ingredients
- Dark chocolate: Use high quality dark chocolate—pick your favorite snacking bar! Anything from 60% to 85% cacao works, but I think the sweet spot is 70% cacao. Some of my favorite chocolate brands are Green & Black, Guittard, and Hu Kitchen.
- Refined coconut oil: To keep things dairy-free and not tasting overly coconut-y, I use refined coconut oil in place of unsalted butter. Ghee is also a great option if you can’t tolerate lactose but want the buttery flavor.
- Blanched almond flour: I use store-bought finely ground blanched almond flour in this recipe, but you can use almond meal or process your own almond meal with a food processor. You can definitely substitute other nut flours like walnut, hazelnut, or pistachio. If you’re nut-free, I suspect sunflower seed flour would work!
- Coconut sugar: I use coconut sugar in place of white sugar in this recipe to lower the glycemic index and add a nice caramel note to the cake. Maple sugar is a good substitute if you have it on hand. (I haven’t tried a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup so I don’t know if they will work.)
- Eggs: The eggs are critical to the cake’s structure and act as a leavening agent, so you can’t substitute them out. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature and separate them carefully because there can’t be any yolks in the egg whites.
- Cream of tartar: To help the egg whites whip up to stiff peaks, I add a little bit of cream of tartar because the acid helps denature the protein and stabilize the whipped whites. If you don’t have cream of tartar, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt: Every chocolate dessert is improved with a smidge of salt!
- Confectioners’ sugar: Traditionally, a Torta Caprese is dusted with a thin layer of powdered sugar before serving. To keep things lower carb, you can use a keto confectioners’ sugar like Swerve or use unsweetened cocoa powder.
How to make Torta Caprese
Heat the oven and prepare the cake pan
Heat the oven to 325°F with the rack in the middle. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with avocado oil cooking spray or coconut oil. Add a parchment paper cake round on the bottom if desired.
Melt the chocolate and fat
Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then continue nuking in 30 second intervals, until completely melted. You can also melt the chocolate and oil in a double boiler.
Whisk the vanilla extract into the melted chocolate and set aside.
Whip the egg whites
Grab your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy.
Then, increase the speed to medium-high and beat the egg whites until they’re fluffy and stiff peaks form.
Transfer the beaten whites from the stand mixer bowl to a large mixing bowl.
Mix the flourless chocolate cake batter
Plop the egg yolks and the coconut sugar into the empty mixer bowl and whip on medium-high speed until uniform and light brown, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. You should notice a distinct color change from dark brown to light as air is whipped into the yolks!
Pour the chocolate mixture into the beaten yolks and mix on medium speed until just incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the sides as needed.
Add the almond flour and kosher salt and mix the batter until uniform, about 30 seconds.
Remove bowl from mixer and mix a few times using a large silicone spatula to make sure all the almond flour is mixed in. The batter will be very thick and stiff at this point.
Fold the whipped whites into the batter
Using a large silicone spatula, fold in ⅓ of the whipped whites to lighten the batter. Once the egg whites are mixed in, it’s easier to carefully fold in the rest of the whipped egg whites. Next, gently fold in the remaining whites into the batter—cutting down the center and sweeping up the sides—until no streaks of white remain. Don’t mix in the whites too vigorously or the resulting cake will be very dense.
Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan, and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.
Bake the cake
Pop the chocolate almond flour cake in the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (no wet batter!).
Cool the cake
Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Then, pop off the sides of the springform pan and cool the cake completely on the wire rack.
How to serve Torta Caprese
To keep things (relatively) low carb, you can dust the top of cake with keto confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Then, slice and eat!
Cut the flourless chocolate cake into wedges and serve as-is, with some fresh berries, and/or dollop on whipped coconut cream. If you aren’t dairy free, you can spoon on regular whipped cream, creme fraiche, or Greek yogurt.
How do you store the cake?
Wrap the gluten-free chocolate cake in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Take the cake out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
More paleo chocolate dessert recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Torta Caprese (Almond Flour Chocolate Cake)
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 85% cacao) finely chopped
- ¾ cup refined coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs separated
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¾ cup coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 1½ cups finely ground almond flour
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- keto confectioners sugar optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325°F with the rack in the middle. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with avocado oil spray or coconut oil. Add a parchment paper cake round on the bottom if desired.
- Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then continue nuking in 30 second intervals, until completely melted. You can also melt the chocolate and oil in a double boiler. Whisk the vanilla extract into the melted chocolate and set aside.
- Grab your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy. Then, increase the speed to medium-high and beat the egg whites until they’re fluffy and stiff peaks form. Transfer the beaten whites from the stand mixer bowl to a large bowl.
- Plop the egg yolks and the coconut sugar into the empty mixer bowl and whip on medium-high speed until uniform and light brown, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. You should notice a distinct color change from dark brown to light as air is whipped into the yolks!
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the beaten yolks and mix on medium speed until just incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the sides as needed.
- Add the almond flour and kosher salt and mix the batter until uniform, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and mix a few times using a large silicone spatula to make sure all the almond flour is mixed in. The batter will be very thick and stiff at this point.
- Using a large silicone spatula, fold in ⅓ of the whipped whites to lighten the batter. Once the egg whites are mixed in, it’s easier to carefully fold in the rest of the whipped egg whites. Next, gently fold in the remaining whites into the batter—cutting down the center and sweeping up the sides—until no streaks of white remain. Don’t mix in the whites too vigorously or the resulting cake will be very dense.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared springform pan, and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.
- Pop the chocolate almond flour cake in the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (no wet batter!).
- Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Then, pop off the sides of the springform pan and cool the cake completely on the wire rack.
- To keep things (relatively) low carb, you can dust the top of cake with keto confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Then, slice and eat!
Video
Notes
- It’s best to use a scale to measure out the dry ingredients. The coconut oil, dark chocolate, coconut sugar, and almond flour are all 6 ounces (170 grams) each. This is the scale I recommend.
- Pick a dark chocolate bar you love to eat! The optimal amount of cacao is 70%, but anywhere from 60% to 85% will work.
- Make ahead instructions: Cool the cake completely, wrap it in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Take the cake out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe to make for my gluten free, dairy free and corn free family. Minimal ingredients and a delicious treat!
I’m a total recipe follower and sometimes forget to read ahead. You missed where you’re only using partial egg whites at the beginning and the rest at the end. If I had read ahead I would have seen it but it would be nice if you mentioned it early on. It’s going into the oven now! Wish me luck!!
Very nice recipe chef 👍👌👏. Thank you for your effort 🌞😎
Looks delicious! I can’t tolerate coconut. Do you have an alternative oil/fat recommendation? Thank you! (I can do dairy if that would work.)
Butter or ghee work!
is there any way I can use cacao powder? I have a good organic one from healthworks.
Not really. You need the fat from the chocolate bar to make sure the cake texture is correct.
Thanks so much for the reply.
Do you think it would work to make only half the recipe and use silicon muffin tins instead? (Trying to make smaller portion and avoid leftovers!)
We have not tried to modify the recipe, so I am not certain if that would work. If you do try it the cook time will change.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe. I can’t eat dairy any more, so I was so glad to be able to make this for my dessert for Thanksgiving, when everybody else was going to have pie with ice cream on top. I’ve now frozen away 2/3 of the cake so that I can get it out whenever I need something sweet.
You’re very welcome Rebecca!
may I ask how much the quantity of almond flour shoud weight in gram ?
thanks
Hi Annie. Approx 144 grams of almond flour.