Flourless chocolate cake is a dense cake made from an aerated

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

custard. The first documented form of the cake was seen in Ferrara, Italy, though some forms of the cake have myths surrounding their origins. The dessert contains no gluten which makes it acceptable for those with celiac disease, gluten-free diets, and during religious holidays in which gluten and grains are not permitted.

Overview

A traditional baking method for a variety of flourless chocolate cakes involves whipping the whites alone and then whipping the yolks into the sugar to increase the air content. The overall effect of this process is a sturdy, but light cake. The chocolate and butter are melted together in either a microwave or double boiler. Once all the ingredients are combined, the resulting batter contains only the starch naturally present in the chocolate. The use of Dutch cocoa powder instead of simple cocoa powder will allow the cake to have a denser fudge-like consistency that the cake is known for. Flourless chocolate cakes typically use simple ingredients including: chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and an optional dusting of powdered sugar, chocolate ganache, or berries. The Torta Caprese includes an additional ingredient of

almond meal Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal th ...

Origin

La Torta Tenerina is an Italian flourless chocolate cake that was first seen in Ferrara, Italy in 1900. It is the first recorded version of the cake. It has an alternative name, Queen of Montenegro, as it was said to be served when King Victor Emmanuel III took the throne of Italy making Elena Montenegro the Queen of Italy. In Ferrara, Italy La Torta Tenerina can be found on many restaurant and bakery menus.

Special Diets

In Jewish cuisine

Flourless chocolate cake is a common dessert among

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

during the holiday of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

since leavened grains cannot be consumed during that holiday.

In gluten-free diets

Flourless chocolate cake is a popular dessert in

gluten-free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclus ...

diets. There are several varieties including topping the cake with a chocolate ganache, adding raspberries, or it is frequently served with vanilla ice cream, all of which can be enjoyed by those with gluten-free and celiac-appropriate diets. The use of alternative sugars would allow this cake to be enjoyed by those on a keto diet as well.

Similar cakes

Torta Caprese, originating from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

island of Capri, is a traditional flourless chocolate cake popular in that region that includes almond flour. This cake has a number of myths surrounding its origins including a baker forgetting to add the flour and that it's a version of an Austrian cake called the Austrian Sachertorte. A similar cake with little or no flour is known as "fallen" or "molten" chocolate cake and was popularized by, among others,

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.

's restaurants.

References

{{Cakes Jewish baked goods Custard desserts Chocolate desserts Italian cakes Passover foods Chocolate cakes