Pistachio Torta Caprese
Pistachio Torta Caprese is my take on the traditional torta caprese, an Italian flourless chocolate cake. My version is made with browned butter and pistachios for a distinct nutty flavor and dense fudgy texture, best served cold.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 494kcal
Cost: $25
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.
Do not overprocess. The pistachios will eventually turn into pistachio butter if you pulse for too long. See images for texture cues.
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 494kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 666mg | Potassium: 458mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 604IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 4mg
