Chocolate Torte (Italian Torta Tenerina)

The origin of the Torta Tenerina has long been disputed between Ferrara and Bologna, but history says that the city of Este was the birthplace of this cake. It seems that the Tenerina Cake was prepared for the first time at the beginning of the last century in Ferrara, in honor of the Queen of Montenegro, wife of King Vittorio Emanuele III. Torta Tenerina in Ferrara is also called "Torta Taclenta". In the Ferrara dialect "Taclenta" means "sticky", due to its consistency. It remains extremely moist inside even after cooking, with its sugary crunchy surface. It's a little thick chocolate cake, made with little flour, butter, milk, lots of dark chocolate and no yeast. It has a moist consistency and a tender heart, hence the name "tenerina", but on the surface it has a crunchy and thin crust. Tenerina cake is an easy-to-make dessert. Serve it together with Mascarpone Cream or with whipped cream. Torta tenerina is excellent for breakfast, as a snack or for an after dinner dessert. You can make it ahead of time because it keeps fresh for days. Note about chocolate: the recipe calls for a 70/80% high concentration dark chocolate. If you prefer a less bitter and more delicate taste, you can use a less concentrated dark chocolate, but in this case it is better to reduce the amount of sugar (100 g/3.5 oz).

7 oz dark chocolate 72% (200 g)
3.5 oz unsalted butter (100 g)
5.3 oz sugar (150 g)
3 medium whole eggs
2 oz "00" flour (60 g)
whole milk (25 mL)

Garnish:
confectioners' sugar

Preheat an oven to 350°F (175°C/155°C fan, Gas Mark 3).

Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a double boiler together with the butter. It's very important that the heat is low and that the chocolate does not stick to the pot. For this reason it's better to mix often. Once melted and combined, set aside the mixture of chocolate and butter and let it cool.

Separate the yolks from the whites. Then with the electric mixer, whip the egg yolks with half a dose of sugar for at least 5 minutes until they double in volume.

Pour the melted chocolate into the egg yolk cream and mix well. Then add the milk and the sifted flour. Mix always with the mixer on low speed.

Whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff.

Combine the whipped egg whites with the chocolate cream by hand and very slowly. Always mix from top to bottom to avoid deflate the egg whites. The whipped egg whites in this recipe are very important, because they form the delicious crust on Tenerina cake, with a consistency similar to meringue.

Cover with parchment paper a 25 cm (10") springform pan with removable bottom. Pour the mixture and level it.

Bake for about 25 minutes. The cooking time depends a lot on the type of oven, however with these doses not less than 25 minutes. After this time, if the cake has a crusty surface with some typical crêpes, then the cake is ready, otherwise leave it for another 2/3 minutes. You can also check the baking of the cake with a toothpick: remember that the center of the Tenerina Cake must remain moist and soft, so if the toothpick comes out moist and a crunchy crust has formed, that's fine.

Remove the edge of the pan and let the cake cool. Sprinkle Torta Tenerina with plenty of icing sugar and enjoy! Torta Tenerina is also excellent matched with mascarpone cream or whipped cream.

Storage: Keep Tenerina Cake for 3-4 days under a glass dome cover for cakes. It can be frozen.