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Torta Caprese is a traditional Italian chocolate almond cake from the Isle of Capri. It was just begging to be converted into a sugar free cake and the results are outstanding. Make it yourself and you'll understand my enthusiasm. Eating a slice of this chocolate cake is a little piece of heaven. While the outside bakes up firm, the inside is quite soft and fudge like so the texture is divine.
If you use any of our sweeteners in this recipe, make sure you use one that is close to 1:1 replacement for sugar, as the recipe needs the bulk of the sweetener for the recipe to bake up beautifully.
Serve it simply topped with whipped cream and some fresh berries. Delish!!
How To Make A Sugar Free Torta Caprese
While there are many variations on how to make this cake, this particular method works extremely well and is pretty much a 'no fail' recipe. As a general rule of thumb, the weight of the ingredients is roughly the same, so it uses equal amounts of butter, sweetener, chocolate and almond meal. I also love to add some additional cocoa and as with all of my chocolate cakes I add some instant coffee (optional). Adding coffee to chocolate in these type of recipes really brings out the chocolate flavors. You have the option of adding additional dark chocolate if desired.
Basically I have switched the sugar for Erythritol and this is beaten until light and creamy with butter. I then beat in the egg yolks, almond meal and melted chocolate. The vital part of this recipe is to whip the egg whites until soft and pillowy and to fold them into the chocolate batter just prior to pouring into the baking pan. After baking, the cake has a firmer exterior that covers a wonderfully moist interior. Generally it is served with a dusting of fine powdered sugar which we will switch for a low carb sweetener.
Low Carb Sweeteners
While I like to use Erythritol in recipes like this for bulk, you can use alternative sweeteners. Try to use one that is more bulky and uses similar quantities to sugar, ie, as close to a 1:1 replacement as possible. Some of the stevia and monkfruit blends are very concentrated and might not add the bulk that is required for this recipe.
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
Ingredients
- 125 grams almond meal see note, below
- 125 grams high quality chocolate I use 85%. For richer chocolate flavor use up to 175 grams
- 125 grams salted butter at room temperature
- 125 grams erythritol or alternate sweetener that's 1:1 with sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa optional but recommend
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee optional but recommend
- 3 large eggs
- A pinch of salt
- Powdered sweetener for dusting
Instructions
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Heat oven to 175C/350 F. My preference is using bake function as fan forced cooks too quickly
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Melt the chocolate over a double broiler or in the microwave ( taking care not to burn it if microwaving.) Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl beat the butter with the sweetener until light and creamy.
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Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the butter mixture, beating until combined. Add the melted chocolate and the almond meal, cocoa and instant coffee to the butter mixture and continue to beat until well combined.
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In a separate mixing bowl whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until fluffy peaks begin to form. Fold the egg whites gently into the chocolate batter until evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth out the top.
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Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top of the cake is slightly firm but a skewer in the middle comes out with a few crumbs but no wet batter. Take care not to over cook and don't allow the cake to brown on top. The cake is meant to be really soft on the inside when warm.
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Leave the cake to sit in the pan for about 40 minutes to cool before turning it out of the pan as it can be a little fragile. Turn cake out carefully then flip back to the correct side.
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Allow cake to cool slightly and dust with powdered sweetener.
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Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Fresh strawberries also taste delicious served with this cake. Serve hot or cold, although cake firms up as it cools. See notes below for the recipe for a ganache drizzle option.
