Italian Chocolate Walnut Cake (Torta di Noci)

This is an Italian dessert that has been around for generations, and I can’t resist it when it comes to making it at home.

There is nothing quite like a sweet dessert, and this recipe does not disappoint. Roasting the walnuts first will bring out their flavor, but it’s not required to make the cake taste great!

Part 1: Preheat the oven

– Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper.

Part 2: Chop your walnuts

Chop your walnuts using a food processor until you have the texture of sand. You are looking for walnuts with a coarser look, not pasty.

Part 3: Melt Chocolate

– Over a bain marie or in the microwave with low heat, melt the 2/3 cup dark chocolate, and let cool until slightly warm to the touch.

Part 4: Mixing

In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Whip egg yolks and sugar with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer at high speed for a few minutes.

Part 5: Combining other mixture

– Add the sunflower seed oil and the lukewarm melted dark chocolate as well as the espresso powder, mix again at medium speed for a few moments just until combined.

Part 6: Adding Dry Ingredients

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the dry mix to the batter and whisk until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.

Part 7: Whipping

In a cold bowl, whip the 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form, incorporate the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter a little at a time with a rubber spatula and stir gently but determined.

Part 8: Baking

Transfer the mix to the prepared pan (if you saved some chocolate chips, sprinkle them on now) and bake for 22 – 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Part 9: Remove from pan

– Let the cake cool for 30 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove from pan after 30 minutes. – Serve dusted with confectioners' sugar.

This chocolate walnut cake is a decadent and easy to make dessert that will satisfy the sweet tooth of any Italian food lover.