CAPRESE without BUTTER
CAPRESE without BUTTER
One of the best-known and, in my opinion, most delicious desserts of the Campania tradition is the CAPRESE CAKE, with the intense almond flavor paired with chocolate and a moist, melting interior but slightly crunchy exterior.
The fundamental ingredients of the original recipe are: almonds, dark chocolate, eggs and butter — simple and genuine but … there’s a problem … I recently discovered I’m lactose intolerant so no butter.
Until recently, the very idea of adding oil inside a dessert in place of butter made me shudder; then, out of necessity, I had to try it, and I discovered a whole new world.
Spectacular desserts where the oil is, so to speak, “discreet,” in the sense that you don’t notice its presence, and that have nothing to envy to those made with butter.
However, I would never have dared to replace it in a cake like the caprese, in which its presence is, I would say, rather important.
But I really wanted to eat it, and I had leftover chocolate from the Easter period, so I needed an idea — a recipe to inspire a simple and indulgent caprese but without butter.
I remembered reading something in the book by maestro Luca Montersino … but what? Of course — how could I forget — the small capresi, a recipe that reworks the classic caprese and calls for the use of olive oil.
I tried it, I let myself be tempted — mostly hoping it would work to soothe my craving — and, though a bit hesitant, I got to work.
I couldn’t believe it: the result was astonishing, the flavor WOW, nothing to make you regret the original version: the crunch of the chocolate crust, the softness of the cake’s heart, the typical little crunch under the teeth — pure pleasure — and moreover perfect not only for those who are lactose intolerant but also for those who are gluten intolerant.
In short, an absolutely not-to-be-missed indulgence, and if you’re wondering how it’s possible to prepare a chocolate caprese cake without butter, well, as they said in Young Frankenstein … “IT CAN BE DONE”!
CAPRESE without BUTTER
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: pan diameter 8 2/3 in / 9 1/2 in
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 829.29 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 64.77 (g) of which sugars 46.95 (g)
- Proteins 19.85 (g)
- Fat 58.40 (g) of which saturated 16.66 (g)of which unsaturated 26.61 (g)
- Fibers 11.72 (g)
- Sodium 72.60 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 185 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
- 5-6 whole eggs eggs (whole)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 7 oz dark chocolate
- 1 3/4 cups almonds (unpeeled)
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 3/4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or vegetable/seed oil)
- 1 tbsp amaretto (liqueur)
Preparation
Place the almonds in a food processor and coarsely chop them together with the cocoa and half of the sugar.
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining 125 g of sugar using an electric mixer until you obtain a light, voluminous and frothy mixture.
Meanwhile, melt the broken dark chocolate in a bain-marie; when completely melted and with the heat off, add the oil and let it cool slightly.
Fold the previously beaten eggs into the chopped almonds with a spatula, then add the melted chocolate with the oil and finally the amaretto liqueur.
Pour the mixture into a pan (diameter 8 2/3 in) previously lightly oiled and dusted with rice flour (if you are gluten intolerant) or with regular all-purpose flour (if you have no intolerance issues).
Bake in a conventional oven preheated to 347°F for 20 minutes, then cover the pan with aluminum foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes.
Let the cake cool well before removing it from the pan, then serve the chocolate caprese without butter generously dusted with powdered sugar on top.
TIPS AND VARIATIONS
Remember that for a successful cake all ingredients — but especially the eggs — must be at room temperature.
Instead of chopped almonds you can comfortably use almond flour.
To flour the pan you can use flour or substitute with potato starch or cornstarch (maizena).
The caprese is already delicious as is, but if you want to make it even more indulgent and you have no lactose intolerance problems, I suggest serving it with a creamy chantilly or simply whipped cream.
STORAGE
You can store the caprese without butter in a cake carrier or under a glass dome for 2-3 days. It can be frozen — in that case I recommend portioning and freezing already sliced.
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