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Lemon, almond & white chocolate torta caprese



Hey, friends! How about a tangy yet sweet and all together fluffy Italian cake this week? This is a take on my Italian friend, Corinne’s, lemon and almond caprese, with absolutely no flour.

You know how a cake flavor brings back a certain country or region or even the warmth of summer days where you once tasted that dolce or sweet? This dessert certainly carries the warmth of southern Italy, and brings back memories of cliffside Mediterranean towns overgrown with lemons.

The Sorrentine coast is overrun with orange and lemon trees, vineyards and olive trees in their terrassed glory.  The fragrance during the springtime can be deliciously overwhelming. Considered since antiquity as a place of great physical beauty and diversity, the Amalfi Coast beyond Sorrento and the island of Capri, the namesake of this cake, is suspended between sea and mountain, and also a UNESCO world heritage site.  Legend has it that the chef “forgot” to add flour to this cake and the rest is history. Enjoy a taste of the sunny south of Italy through this recipe :

3 eggs separated
150 g sugar (1-1/4 cup)
200 g of almond flour
2 heaping tablespoons of sour cream or yogurt
60 g of butter or oil
100 g melted white chocolate (optional)
2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch
1/2 cup of limoncello or sweetened lemon juice
Grated Lemon zest, about 1-1/2 tablespoon
1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
Pinch of salt

Powdered sugar or slivered almonds for dusting

Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Separate eggs and in a bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks and you can turn bowl over without them falling. In a separate bowl, mix yolks, sugar, almond powder, cream, butter.  Then mix in all other ingredients. Fold egg whites delicately with a spatula into mixture. Pour into a spring form pan (23 cm), prepared beforehand with a sheet of wax paper. Bake for 30 minutes. Once cool, remove from pan, peel wax paper off, dust with powdered sugar or almonds or both.

Salut, les amis! Que diriez-vous d'un gâteau italien délicieusement acidulé, sucré et moelleux au même temps en tant que souvenir de voyage cette semaine? Voici la recette de mon amie italienne, Corinne, pour une torta caprese au citron et aux amandes, sans farine. 

Vous savez comment une saveur rappelle un certain pays ou une région ou même la chaleur des jours d'été où vous avez goûté un "dolce" (douceur ou patisserie) ? Ce dessert nous fait revivre la chaleur du sud de l'Italie et rappelle les souvenirs des villes méditerranéennes à flanc de falaise, dans ce sud dominé de citronniers. 

La côte sorrentine est parsemé d'orangers et de citronniers, de vignes et d'oliviers en terrasses vertigineuses. Le parfum au printemps peut être délicieusement enivrant. Considérée depuis l'Antiquité comme un lieu d'une grande beauté et de diversité, la côte amalfitaine, au sud-est de Sorrente et Capri, le lieu d'origine se ce gâteau, suspendue entre mer et montagne, est un site du patrimoine mondiale de l'UNESCO. La petite histoire raconte que le cuisinier avait “oublié” de rajouter la farine, et le résultat avait tellement de succès qu’il continuait à le preparer ainsi. J'espère que le parfum délicat de ce gâteau vous rappellera cette Italie ensoleillée du sud: 

Recette
3 œufs, séparés 
150 g de sucre 
200 g de poudre d'amande 
2 cuillères à soupe de fromage blanc ou de yaourt 
60 g de beurre ou d'huile 
100 g de chocolat blanc fondu (facultatif) 
2 cuillères à soupe de fécule de maïs 
1 petit verre de limoncello ou de jus de citron légèrement sucré 
Zeste de citron râpé, environ 1-1/2 cuillère à soupe 
8 g de levure chimique 
Une pincée de sel 
Sucre glace ou amandes effilées pour saupoudrer

Préchauffer le four à 190 C (375 F). Séparer les œufs et dans un bol à part, battre les blancs d'œufs jusqu'à ce vous obtenez des blancs en neige très fermes. Dans un autre bol, mélanger les jaunes d'oeuf, le sucre, la poudre d'amande, fromage blanc et beurre.  Ensuite rajouter tous les autres ingrédients, une à la fois. Incorporer délicatement les blancs d'oeufs dans le mélange. Verser dans un moule à charnière (23 cm) préalable préparé avec une couche de papier de cuisson. Cuire au four 30 minutes. Tester au milieu avec une curedent que c'est bien sec. Laisser refroidir, démouler et saupoudrer de sucre de glace ou d'amandes effilées ou les deux.






Comments

  1. Oh WOW, you have outdone yourself. I can imagine eating this cake with my coffee.

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