The lemon caprese is a delightful and aromatic variation of the chocolate caprese, an iconic pastry from Campania, originally from the island of Capri.
The recipe I propose today is the original version created by the well-known Campanian pastry chef Salvatore De Riso. The hallmark of this extremely aromatic and soft variant is the use of Amalfi lemons, both fresh and candied, and olive oil.
Because I am not fond of cakes made with olive oil, I decided to follow his recipe substituting the oil with the same amount of butter; after all, his site also shows the butter variant which I find much closer to the original.
There are not many ingredients and they must be of excellent quality. The lemon caprese is a delicious cake that does not contain gluten, made with ground sweet almonds and potato starch which give it an unmistakable lightness.
If you love caprese, don’t miss my favorite version the pistachio caprese which I created 5 years ago; perfectly balanced in sugars and fats, it’s an absolutely fantastic cake!
Try other gluten-free desserts as well:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 10 People
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 396.22 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 37.21 (g) of which sugars 29.18 (g)
- Proteins 8.29 (g)
- Fat 25.39 (g) of which saturated 10.30 (g)of which unsaturated 14.24 (g)
- Fibers 2.76 (g)
- Sodium 50.08 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 85 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 7 oz almonds (blanched sweet almonds or almond flour (about 2 cups almond flour))
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 7 tbsp butter
- 6 oz white chocolate
- 1 oz candied lemon peels (candied; I didn't have them and substituted with the zest of one organic lemon and 1 1/3 tbsp lemon juice)
- 5 whole eggs (about 5 medium eggs)
- 5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
- Half bean vanilla
- 1 large lemon (preferably Amalfi or a large organic lemon)
Tools
- 3 Bowls
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Pan fluted pan for caprese cake, 9.5 in (24 cm)
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Grater
- 1 Scale
- 1 Food processor
Procedure
Cut the butter into pieces and leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Grate the white chocolate and set aside.
Place the whole blanched almonds in the food processor with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and the seeds from the vanilla bean and process until reduced to a flour.
On a sheet of parchment paper, mix the almond flour with the baking powder and the potato starch. Add the grated chocolate.
Chop the candied lemon peels in the food processor; I didn’t have them so I replaced them with the zest of one lemon + 1 1/3 tbsp of lemon juice.
Grate the zest of one organic lemon, preferably from Amalfi.
Crack the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks into two different bowls. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and set the yolks aside.
Add 5 tbsp of granulated sugar to the softened butter and beat with an electric mixer. When well combined, add the yolks one at a time until you obtain a homogeneous mixture; add the grated lemon zest and the chopped candied lemon peels (since I didn’t have them I added the zest of another lemon and 1 1/3 tbsp lemon juice).
Add the dry mixtures to the butter and yolk mixture alternating with the whipped egg whites, folding gently with a spatula from the bottom up, taking care not to deflate the batter.
The batter is ready. Pour it into the buttered and potato-starch-dusted pan.
Bake the cake in a preheated conventional (static) oven at 338°F for about 45 minutes. Use a toothpick to check the doneness, considering that it is a moist cake.
The caprese cake is ready; let it cool slightly for 10 minutes and invert it onto a serving plate. Let it cool completely, dust generously with powdered sugar and serve.
Tips
Storage
The lemon caprese keeps at room temperature for 3 days in a cake carrier; however I prefer to store it in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
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