Pistachio Torta Caprese is an Italian flourless chocolate cake made with ground pistachios for a dense, moist, and fudgy texture. This is my take on classic Torta Caprese, where I swap the traditional almonds for raw pistachios and brown the butter to give the cake an even deeper nutty flavor.
After making traditional Torta Caprese a few times, I couldn't help thinking it would be great with pistachios. I've always gravitated toward pistachios, which I can probably thank my dad for after introducing me to pistachio ice cream as a kid.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- ✅Recipe Name: Pistachio Torta Caprese
- ⏲️Ready in: 1 hour
- 👪Makes: 12 servings
- 📋Main ingredients: Raw Pistachios, 70% dark chocolate, eggs.
- ⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: If you love pistachios, you'll love this dense and fudgy Italian flourless chocolate cake. I think it's best served cold for an even denser, fudgier texture.
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Why This Recipe
I love pistachios and will pretty much look for any excuse to use them. I've made Pistachio Pesto, and I even have a Pistachio Cookie Recipe that started with the idea of taking a classic Pignoli Cookie and swapping the almond paste for pistachio paste.
The first time I had Billy Parisi's Torta Caprese, my immediate thought was, "how do I make this but with pistachios"? Traditional Torta Caprese is made with almonds and dark chocolate, so I kept the dark chocolate but replaced the almonds with pistachios.
Unlike a lot of pistachio versions that use white chocolate, this one is still very much a chocolate cake. The 70% dark chocolate keeps it rich while the pistachios and browned butter give it a distinct nutty flavor. Serve it at room temperature for a softer cake, but I recommend chilling it for a really dense and fudgy texture that no one can forget.
Ingredient Notes
- Chocolate: 70% dark chocolate at minimum because it provides a deep and rich chocolatey flavor without becoming overly sweet. Most chocolate bars come in 3.5 oz, and this recipe uses 10 ounces, which conveniently leaves about a square for the baker. You're welcome.
- Unsalted Butter: I always use unsalted butter because I can control the salt content as I need to. We're also browning the butter here, which gives the cake an extra layer of nutty flavor that works really well with the pistachios.
- Pistachios: Traditional Torta Caprese is made with almonds, but we're using pistachios for a distinct nutty flavor and my own take on this Italian flourless cake. I use raw pistachios and grind them in a food processor until very fine.
- Eggs: I want to make recipes as easy and accessible as possible, but there is no getting around dividing the eggs and whipping the egg white to form stiff peaks. Since this is a dense flourless cake, the whipped egg whites add air to the batter and give the cake some height without taking away from that rich, fudgy texture.
- Cornstarch: Since there's no flour in Torta Caprese, a small amount of cornstarch helps give the cake structure as it bakes while still keeping the center soft and fudgy.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make Torta Caprese with Ground Pistachio
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10-inch wide springform pan with butter and line it with parchment paper.
Step 1: In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted and large, foamy bubbles start to appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Swirl the pan often. After another 6-8 minutes, you should notice the milk solids in the butter turning deep golden brown, and it should begin to smell nutty.
Step 2: Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate immediately, and stir well until melted. Set aside to cool.
Step 3: In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they're ground as finely as possible, with the texture of wet sand, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
Test-Tip: Do not overprocess. The pistachios will eventually turn into pistachio butter if you pulse for too long. See images for texture cues.
Step 4: With a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks.
Step 5: In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, vanilla paste, granulated sugar, kosher salt, and cornstarch until smooth and well combined.
Step 6: When the chocolate mixture has cooled to slightly warmer than room temperature, add the ground pistachios and stir well to combine.
Step 7: Pour the chocolate-pistachio mix into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture and stir well to combine and create a smooth batter. Fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
Step 8: Bake until set in the middle, 28 to 32 minutes. A toothpick test will still come out with moist crumbs. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan. It may deflate slightly as it cools.
Step 9: Once cool, remove the cake from the pan. Dust with powdered sugar and top with remaining ground pistachios and sea salt. Serve room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold for a dense, fudgy texture.
Pro-Tips
- Stay close when browning butter. The browned milk solids can turn from golden brown to burnt very quickly.
- Immediately add the chocolate to the butter once removed from the heat so that it is still hot enough to melt it all.
- Scrape down the food processor as you grind the pistachios. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally so the pistachios grind evenly. Stop once they're finely ground so they don't begin turning into pistachio butter.
- Carefully fold in the egg whites. If you overmix them, whipping them will have been a waste, and the cake can turn out flatter and denser than desired.
FAQs about Pistachio Torta Caprese
Torta caprese's structure mainly comes from the eggs. It's normal for it to slightly deflate in the center. If it sank dramatically, it's possible that when you folded in the egg whites, you overmixed or undercooked.
Yes, in fact, I would recommend you make it a day in advance because it gets dense and fudgy as it sits in the fridge overnight. The texture of cold torta caprese is rich, moist, and incredibly fudgy.
I love a springform pan because I know my cake is less likely to break. You can use any 10-inch cake pan at least 2 inches deep, as long as you grease well and line it with parchment paper.
Yes, but it will be about twice as expensive. Swap it out for 300 grams of pistachio flour.
More Delicious Pistachio Recipes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
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Pistachio Torta Caprese
Equipment
- 1 10-inch springform pan
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- 13 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 10 oz 70% dark chocolate, chopped
- 300 g raw pistachios
- 5 large eggs, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10-inch wide springform pan with butter and line it with parchment paper.
- In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted and large, foamy bubbles start to appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir often. After another 6-8 minutes, you should notice the milk solids in the butter turning deep golden brown, and it should begin to smell nutty.
- Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate immediately, and stir well until melted. Set aside to cool.
- In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they're ground as finely as possible, with the texture of wet sand. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, vanilla paste, granulated sugar, kosher salt, and cornstarch until smooth and well combined.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks.
- When the chocolate mixture has cooled to slightly warmer than room temperature, add the ground pistachios and stir well to combine. Pour the chocolate-pistachio mix into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture and stir well to combine and create a smooth batter.
- Fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
- Bake until set in the middle, 28 to 32 minutes. A toothpick test will still come out with moist crumbs. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan to room temperature. It may deflate slightly as it cools.
- Once cool, remove the cake from the pan. Dust with powdered sugar, flaky sea salt, and remaining ground pistachios. Serve room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold for a dense, fudgy texture.
Video
Notes
- Stay close when browning butter. The browned milk solids can turn from golden brown to burnt very quickly.
- Immediately add the chocolate to the butter once removed from the heat so that it is still hot enough to melt it all.
- Scrape down the food processor as you grind the pistachios. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally so the pistachios grind evenly. Stop once they're finely ground so they don't begin turning into pistachio butter.
- Carefully fold in the egg whites. If you overmix them, whipping them will have been a waste, and the cake can turn out flatter and denser than desired.
Vinny DelGiudice says
I love this intensely fudgy and rich chocolate cake. Serve pistachio torta caprese cold for the best creamy and dense chocolatey texture! Let me know what you think!