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5 from 10 votes

Italian Chocolate Walnut Cake (Torta di Noci)

This chocolate walnut cake is a decadent and easy to make dessert that will satisfy the sweet tooth of any Italian food lover.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 515kcal
Author: Serena

Ingredients

  • 3 Large Room Temperature Eggs (Separate egg yolks from egg whites)
  • ¾ cup Sugar (150 grams)
  • ½ cup Sunflower Oil (100 grams)
  • cup Dark Chocolate Chopped and Melted (113 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon Instant Espresso Powder (3 grams)
  • ¾ cup All Purpose Flour (90 grams)
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt (2 grams)
  • 1 ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder (7 grams)
  • cup Dark Chocolate Chips (65 grams)
  • 1 ⅓ cup Toasted Walnuts - Ground (140 grams)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
  • 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. We are not looking for it to be as fine as almond flour. (See image in post)
  • Over a bain marie or in the microwave with low heat, melt the ⅔ cup dark chocolate, and let cool until slightly warm to the touch.
  • 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. The mixture should turn a paler yellow by then.
  • 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.
  • 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. Finally, add the ground walnuts and chocolate chips. (I saved a few of these chocolate chips to sprinkle on the top of the cake right before putting it in the oven.) The batter will look a bit dry and crumbly now. Don't worry. It’ll come together.
  • 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. The mix will lighten up now. Make sure there are no clumps of batter sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Mix until the mixture is looking almost smooth. The batter will be thick, but spreadable.
  • 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. Start checking for doneness at 20 minutes with a wooden toothpick. Remember all ovens are different. It could take you a bit longer than 30 minutes.
  • 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.

Notes

Recipe Source: SerenaLissy.com
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database via Spoonacular API, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators. While this information can be helpful in estimating the nutritional information of a recipe, it is by no means accurate or official and is not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
 
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Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 515kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 99IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 3mg