Torta Caprese with Coffee Cream

This Torta Caprese with Coffee Cream is studded with ground almonds and filled to the brim with rich, chocolatey goodness. It’s the perfect after-dinner treat and the coffee cream on top adds a special twist to an otherwise classic Italian cake.

It’s often said that one reason Italian food is so good is that it relies on simplicity and high-quality ingredients. While we tend to think of that in terms of savory food, that definitely carries over into the dessert category. Much like the Torta di Carote, this Torta Caprese is made with few ingredients, much of which you likely already have in your kitchen.

Since this is a flourless chocolate cake with no leavener, it relies heavily on a high quantity of eggs for its structure and texture. Some ground almonds are also thrown into the mix to hold it all together and add a nutty element to the cake.

When coming up with our own version of a Torta Caprese, we knew we wanted to keep some larger bits of almonds in there for some texture and crunch. We were also aiming for a fudgy, almost brownie-like texture which is best achieved by underbaking the cake just slightly. And of course, we had to add a little something extra which is where the whipped coffee cream comes in. It’s not too sweet and the slight bitterness from the espresso powder balances out the sweetness of the cake.

If you’re hosting a dinner party, this is the perfect thing to offer at the end of a meal. You can even spice it up by adding fresh berries on top or a heap of chocolate shavings.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Find the full list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions in the recipe card below!

• Whole Raw Almonds: Some recipes call for almond meal, but we prefer to ground up whole almonds because we wanted to control the size of the crumbs. Rather than having all the meal get lost in the batter, a courser texture allows for those crunchy little bits of almonds to stay suspended in the cake.
• Eggs: The yolks give the cake its rich, fudgy texture while the whipped egg whites give it structure. It’s best to separate them while they’re cold to minimize the risk of breaking the yolks into the whites.
• 70% Dark Chocolate: This makes up most of the chocolate flavor in the cake so you’ll want to use a high-quality dark chocolate. Our favorite is Valrhona’s 70% Guanaja feves, but Guittard also has really good 70% dark chocolate.
• Amaretto: This sweet almond liqueur adds that extra something to the cake and brings out that classic almond flavor similar to marzipan.
• Heavy Cream: Cold cream whips up better so it’s best to hold off on getting it out of the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
• Instant Espresso Powder: Espresso powder is what’s typically used in baking since it has a darker, more robust flavor than instant coffee granules. Since it’s in powder form, it also dissolves quicker than the granules, especially if you’re adding it to cold liquid like heavy cream.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This section provides a general overview as well as any pictures to guide you through the recipe. The full detailed recipe instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

1. Melt the butter and chocolate. Place the butter and chocolate in a large bowl and place it over a saucepan with simmering water. Stir everything together until it’s melted and smooth. Set it aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

2. Ground up the almonds. Add the whole almonds to a food processor then blend and pulse until coarsely ground. Be careful to let the machine run too long or you won’t have any of those crunchy bits left. Several seconds of blending followed by several pulses should get you the desired texture.

3. Continue making the chocolate batter. Add the egg yolks, 150 g of the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and amaretto to the chocolate butter mixture and whisk until well combined. Once mixed, fold in the ground almonds.

4. Whip the egg whites. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar and beat until medium to stiff glossy peaks form.

5. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter. Add ⅓ of the egg whites at a time to the chocolate mixture and fold until well combined.

6. Bake. Transfer the batter to a greased and lined 8-inch cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center is slightly underdone and the edges are set. Once done, let the cake cool for at least 2 hours in the pan.

7. Make the coffee whipped cream. Add the ingredients for the coffee cream to a medium bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip the cream until soft peaks form.

8. Serve. Dust the cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar then slice. Top with the coffee cream and add any other toppings of your choosing (we like to add berries to ours).