Italian Chocolate Walnut Cake Flourless Recipes

ITALIAN FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch cake pan. Line bottom with parchment.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE WALNUT CAKE (FLOURLESS)

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
• Lightly oil (or butter) a non-stick 20 cm springform pan; if yours is not non-stick, butter the bottom, line bottom with parchment paper, then butter the sides and the parchment as well.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a heat-proof glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring with a wooden spoon until both are completely melted and the mixture is smooth; take the bowl off the heat (and off the pan of water).
• Mix the instant coffee granules and 3 TBS cocoa powder into the chocolate mixture and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and the granulated sugar together for five minutes at high speed, until they are light in color and thickened.
• Grind 30 g of the walnuts in a spice or coffee mill until they become a fine powder.
• Coarsely chop the remaining walnuts.
• Stir the ground walnuts and walnut pieces into the egg mixture.
• Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until they are completely combined (I like to use a glass bowl so I can see that I've done so).
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
• Bake 40 minutes or until the top of the cake is dry.
• Turn the oven off, leaving the cake undisturbed IN THE OVEN to cool COMPLETELY.
• When the cake is cooled, remove from the oven.
• Remove the cake from the pan, remove parchment paper if used, and sprinkle with the reserved cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE-WALNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with parchment; oil parchment and dust with cocoa.
• Melt together 1/2 cup oil and 8 ounces (1 1/3 cups) chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar until combined. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time. Whisk in cocoa, vanilla, and salt; fold in ground walnuts. Spread batter in prepared pan.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is set, about 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely, preferably overnight. Run a knife around edge to loosen; remove from pan. Transfer cake to a serving plate.
• Melt remaining 2 ounces (1/3 cup) chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until smooth. Pour over center of cake and spread to cover top. Sprinkle chopped walnuts in center. Cut into wedges; serve. (Torte can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day.)