Dell’Anno says: “Torta Caprese owes its name to the beautiful and romantic island of Capri, just off the coast of Naples, from which it originates. The recipe is naturally gluten-free: in fact, the story goes that this cake is the result of a mistake made at the beginning of the 20th century by a local chef who, in a hurry, forgot to add flour to his batter. 

The result is a light and flavoursome cake with a crispy, delicate skin and a moist centre. Some modern variations use ready-made ground almonds, but I find that blitzing whole unblanched almonds together with the chocolate chips delivers a better, more rustic, texture while preserving the freshness and flavour of the nuts.”

Serves up to 14 for a 27cm (10 ¾ in), 5cm (2in) deep cake tin.

Ingredients

• Cornflour (cornstarch), for dusting
• 200g (1½ cups) whole unblanched almonds
• 150g (5½oz) dark chocolate chips (50–55% cocoa solids)
• 40g (scant ½ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 180g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 180g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• ½ tsp natural almond extract
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 250g (9oz) egg (about 5 medium eggs) at room temperature, separated
• Pinch of salt
• Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting

Method

Set the shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 170°C (340°F/Gas mark 3). Grease the bottom and sides of the tin with butter and dust with cornflour. I recommend also lining the bottom of the tin with a disc of baking paper as this will ensure a smoother cake top.

Grind the almonds and chocolate chips in a food processor at high speed for about 1 minute until the mixture looks gritty. It is fine to leave some coarser bits of almond in the mix: these will give the cake a pleasant bite.

Sift the cocoa powder and the baking powder into the almond and chocolate mixture and combine well with a spoon. Set aside for later. On a warm day, the dry mixture might clump up, so make sure that all clumps are broken up before moving on to the next step.

Soften the butter in the microwave until creamy but not liquid; 10–20 seconds should be enough. Add the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add half of the sugar, the vanilla, almond extract and rum, and whisk the mixture until soft and creamy. Start at very low speed and gradually increase to full speed as the butter softens. Incorporate the egg yolks one at a time and keep beating at high speed until pale and fluffy. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt using a handheld electric whisk until foamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites and keep beating to make a stiff meringue. Do not over-beat the whites or it will be more difficult to incorporate them into the batter: the meringue should form stiff, shiny peaks but not look dry and clumpy.

Add one third of the dry mixture and one large spoonful of meringue to the yolk and butter cream and keep folding until well combined. Repeat twice more until all the dry mixture has been added. Incorporate the remaining meringue, gently folding it into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin, gently flatten the top and immediately bake for 55 minutes–1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Don’t be tempted to over-bake this cake: the skin should be crispy, but the core should remain moist. Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 1 hour.

Pass a blunt knife around the sides of the tin and turn the cake upside down over a cooling rack to cool completely. Transfer to a serving plate and dust with a generous amount of icing sugar. You can add a simple but effective finish by placing a few fabric ribbons over the cake and using them as stencils before dusting it with icing sugar. Store under a cake dome for up to 3–4 days or freeze for up to a month.

You could also try…

The best bakeries in Naples serve Torta Caprese as individual servings baked in hemispherical moulds, so why not give it a try?

Dell’Anno says: “The simplest version of hot milk cake is flavoured only with vanilla; however, I am undeniably partial to my coffee variant as the overall flavour is pleasantly close to caffè latte, the quintessential Italian (and my favourite) breakfast drink. 

The sponge on its own is easy to make and is the perfect companion to a cup of coffee. However, I have filled mine with a good layer of coffee cream and drizzled it with coffee glaze to boost the flavour further. Which version you go for is entirely up to you: they both taste delicious!”

Serves up to 12 for a 23cm (9 inch) springform cake tin.

Ingredients

• 200g (7oz) egg (about 4 medium eggs), at room temperature
• 200g (generous 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 100g (scant ½ cup) whole milk
• 80g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 80g (1/3 cup) strong espresso
• 220g (2¼ cups) soft wheat 00 flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt

For the cream filling:

• 500g (2 cups) whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 75g (2½oz) egg yolk (about 5 medium egg yolks)
• 110g (scant 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 50g (½ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
• Small pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp instant coffee

For the glaze:

• 50g (1/3 cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 2-3 tsp strong espresso

Method

Make the sponge:

Set the shelf in the lowest position in the oven and preheat it to 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4). Grease the tin and line the bottom with a disc of baking paper.

Beat the eggs with the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until pale and frothy. The egg mixture should reach the ‘ribbon stage’, i.e. the mixture should fall from the whisks in continuous ribbons, leaving a trail on the surface of the batter that does not disappear. This will take 10–15 minutes with the mixer at high speed.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a small pan over low heat until just simmering. Remove from the heat and incorporate the coffee.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and gently fold it into the egg mixture in 3 stages, using a silicone spatula. Put 3 large tablespoons of the mixture in a bowl, then add the milk and coffee mixture and whisk to combine. Slowly pour this mixture into the rest of the batter, folding it in delicately with the spatula until fully combined.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and dry.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove the ring and transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the filling:

Add 2 tablespoons of soluble coffee to hot milk and mix until fully dissolved before incorporating the milk. If you prefer asweeter cream, use 125g (2/3 cup) sugar instead of 110g (scant 2/3 cup). For a moreish boozy kick, add 2 tablespoons of sambuca to the cream while it is still warm. The filling should be prepared at least 1–2 hours before it is needed to give it time to cool to room temperature.

Make the glaze:

While the cake cools, prepare a simple coffee glaze by mixing the icing sugar with 2 teaspoons of espresso. This sugar-to-coffee ratio will give you a rather thick glaze, suitable for piping. If you are drizzling it with a spoon, you might need to add a third teaspoon of espresso to achieve a thinner texture. Line the surface of the glaze with clingfilm and set it aside for later.

Assemble:

Once the sponge has cooled completely, slice it in half horizontally to divide it into 2 discs of about equal thickness.

Secure the bottom disc of sponge to a serving plate with a small dollop of cream. Spread the coffee cream over the bottom disc of sponge and level it out with a spatula or a spoon. Top with the remaining disc of sponge and press it down gently.

Drizzle the coffee glaze over the cake with a spoon or with a small piping bag fitted with a 2mm (1/16in) diameter nozzle. Store in the fridge for up to 2–3 days.

Dell’Anno says: “Tenerina means ‘small and tender’ and it is a very good description of the texture of this cake. It does not call for any raising agent, so the result is a shallow, dense but moist, very chocolatey cake. It originates from Ferrara, in Emilia Romagna, where it is also known as tacolenta (sticky) because of its peculiar, almost creamy core.

The key to a good tenerina is the baking time: too long and it will dry out, too short and it might retain a raw core. I test the bake by monitoring the skin: as soon as this turns dull and crispy, the cake is done. A springform tin is ideal for baking a tenerina as the structure is too delicate to turn out of a standard tin. The texture is very rich and exclusively for chocolate lovers, but everybody will love it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I like to decorate the top with chocolate truffles, but this is entirely optional.”

Serves up to 12 for a 23cm (9 inch) springform cake tin.

Ingredients

• 200g (7oz) dark chocolate chips or bar, broken into small pieces (70–75% cocoa solids)
• 125g (generous ½ cup) unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for greasing
• 150g (5½oz) egg (about 3 medium eggs), at room temperature, separated
• Pinch of salt
• 140g (¾ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 50g (½ cup) soft wheat 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
• Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting
• 3 chocolate truffles, to decorate (optional)

Method

Set the shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4). Grease the tin and line the bottom with baking paper.