Italian Flourless Chocolate Cake
Just east of Bologna, Italy, the walled city of Ferrara is known for la torta tenerina, a kind of chocolate cake with an almost creamy interior and a thin, crisp crust. It’s a simple confection, and even still, it’s said that every baker and home cook has his or her own recipe. This version comes from Eleonora Masiero and Ennio Occhiali at Cusina e Butega, a combination bakery and restaurant.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 7tablespoons/100 grams unsalted butter softened, plus more for pan
- ½cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar, sifted, plus more for dusting
- 4ounces/113 grams 70 percent “top quality” dark chocolate
- 2extra-large eggs, separated
- 2tablespoons/20 grams potato starch
- 3 ½tablespoons/40 grams superfine sugar
Instructions
Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch cake pan. Line bottom with parchment.Step 2
In a large bowl, using a mixer or by hand, beat the 7 tablespoons butter with the confectioners’ sugar until smooth and creamy. Melt chocolate in a pan on top of stove. Pour warm chocolate over the butter and sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Whisk in egg yolks one at a time. Stir in potato starch.Step 3
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in superfine sugar and continue beating until firm peaks develop. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture.Step 4
Scrape the batter out of the bowl, and spread it in the pan. Bake for 18 minutes. Cake will rise and top will look dry and a little crackly. Remove pan from oven, place on a rack and allow to cool completely, about 2 hours. Cake will sink a bit.Step 5
Unmold cake, peel off parchment, then invert onto a serving dish so the crackly surface is on top. Generously sift confectioners’ sugar over the top, then serve.