Flourless chocolate cake

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Flourless chocolate cake
Flourless Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream.jpg
Flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream
Type Cake
Course Dessert
Quinoa chocolate cake Quinoa Chocolate Cake CCBYSA2 Karen Neo.jpg
Quinoa chocolate cake

Flourless chocolate cake is a dense cake made from an aerated chocolate custard. [1] The first documented form of the cake was seen in Ferrara, Italy, [2] though some forms of the cake have myths surrounding their origins. [3] The dessert contains no gluten which makes it acceptable for those with celiac disease, [4] gluten-free diets, and during religious holidays in which gluten and grains are not permitted. [5]

Contents

Overview

A traditional baking method for a variety of flourless chocolate cakes involves whipping the whites alone and then whipping the yolks into the sugar to increase the air content. The overall effect of this process is a sturdy, but light cake. [6] The chocolate and butter are melted together in either a microwave or double boiler. Once all the ingredients are combined, the resulting batter contains only the starch naturally present in the chocolate. [1] The use of Dutch cocoa powder instead of simple cocoa powder will allow the cake to have a denser fudge-like consistency that the cake is known for. [7] Flourless chocolate cakes typically use simple ingredients including: chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and an optional dusting of powdered sugar, chocolate ganache, or berries. The Torta Caprese includes an additional ingredient of an almond meal. [6]

Origin

La Torta Tenerina is an Italian flourless chocolate cake that was first seen in Ferrara, Italy in 1900. It is the first recorded version of the cake. It has an alternative name, Queen of Montenegro, as it was said to be served when King Victor Emmanuel III took the throne of Italy making Elena Montenegro the Queen of Italy. [2] In Ferrara, Italy La Torta Tenerina can be found on many restaurant and bakery menus. [2]

Special Diets

In Jewish cuisine

Flourless chocolate cake is a common dessert among Jews during the holiday of Passover since leavened grains cannot be consumed during that holiday. [8]

In gluten-free diets

Flourless chocolate cake is a popular dessert in gluten-free diets. There are several varieties including topping the cake with a chocolate ganache, adding raspberries, or it is frequently served with vanilla ice cream, all of which can be enjoyed by those with gluten-free and celiac-appropriate diets.

The use of alternative sugars would allow this cake to be enjoyed by those on a keto diet as well. [9]

Similar cakes

Torta Caprese, originating from the Italian island of Capri, is a traditional flourless chocolate cake popular in that region that includes almond flour. This cake has a number of myths surrounding its origins including a baker forgetting to add the flour and that it's a version of an Austrian cake called the Austrian Sachertorte. [3] A similar cake with little or no flour is known as "fallen" or "molten" chocolate cake and was popularized by, among others, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dessert</span> Sweet course that concludes a meal

Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as candy, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cake</span> Flour-based baked sweet

Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate and which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Custard</span> Semi-solid cooked mixture of milk and egg

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to the thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used in custard desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla; however, savory custards are also found, e.g., in quiche.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pound cake</span> Type of cake

Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or with a coat of icing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icing (food)</span> Food producing method

Icing, or frosting, is a sweet, often creamy glaze made of sugar with a liquid, such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, cream cheese, or flavorings. It is used to coat or decorate baked goods, such as cakes. When it is used between layers of cake it is known as a filling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macaroon</span> Type of cookie

A macaroon is a small cake or cookie, typically made from ground almonds, coconut or other nuts, with sugar and sometimes flavourings, food colouring, glacé cherries, jam or a chocolate coating; or a combination of these or other ingredients. Some recipes use sweetened condensed milk. Macaroons are sometimes baked on edible rice paper placed on a baking tray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate pudding</span> Class of desserts with chocolate flavours

Chocolate puddings are a class of desserts in the pudding family with chocolate flavors. There are two main types: a boiled then chilled dessert, texturally a custard set with starch, commonly eaten in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Sweden, Poland, and East and South East Asia; and a steamed/baked version, texturally similar to cake, popular in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torta caprese</span> Italian chocolate and walnut cake

Torta caprese is a flourless Italian cake made with chocolate and either almonds or hazelnuts. Named for the island of Capri from which it originates, the cake is widely known and especially popular in nearby Naples, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate syrup</span> Chocolate-flavored condiment used as a topping or ingredient

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate cake</span> Baked cake flavored with chocolate

Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciambella</span> Italian ring-shaped cake

Ciambella is an Italian ring-shaped cake with regional varieties in ingredients and preparation. As an example, a basic version of the cake could be prepared using flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, milk, sugar, oil and vanilla flavoring. Honey is sometimes added as a sweetener. To create the light texture the sugar and eggs are whisked together, and oil and milk are added while whisking continuously until the mixture is frothy. Then sifted baking powder and flour are added to the dry ingredients and the cake is baked in a ring shaped pan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sponge cake</span> Type of cake

Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the English poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognised today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in many flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant pudding</span>

Instant pudding is an instant food product that is manufactured in a powder form and used to create puddings and pie filling. It is produced using sugar, flavoring agents and thickeners as primary ingredients. Instant pudding can be used in some baked goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supangle</span> Turkish chocolate pudding

Supangle or sup is a type of Turkish chocolate pudding. Its bottom layer includes pieces of cake and it is often garnished with pistachio or coconut, and chocolate chips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut cake</span> Cake prepared using chestnuts

Chestnut cake is a cake prepared using chestnuts. Chestnut flour prepared from cooked, ground chestnuts are used in its preparation, along with additional typical cake ingredients. It is sometimes prepared as a chocolate cake. Chestnuts are sometimes used in a frosting or glaze atop the cake, and it may be garnished with cooked or candied chestnuts. It can be prepared as a gluten-free dish.

References

  1. 1 2 Baking illustrated: a best recipe classic (1st ed.). Brookline, MA: America's Test Kitchen. 2004. ISBN   0-936184-75-2. OCLC   54454496.
  2. 1 2 3 Fabricant, Florence (2016-12-02). "Flourless Chocolate Cake Finds an Ancestor in Italy". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  3. 1 2 "Tales of a dolce born by mistake in a corner of Paradise". www.itchefs-gvci.com. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  4. "Flourless Chocolate Cake". Eat! Gluten-Free. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  5. Wolly, Brian. "A Gentile's Guide to Keeping Kosher for Passover". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  6. 1 2 "Italian Chocolate-Almond Cake". www.cooksillustrated.com. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  7. "Different Types of Chocolate and How to Use Them". www.cooksillustrated.com. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  8. "Flourless Chocolate Cake" . Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  9. Childress, Author Logan (2018-02-14). "Keto Flourless Chocolate Cake". Better Than Bread Keto. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-17.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  10. "Molten Chocolate Cakes Recipe". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2021-04-17.