This moist, beautifully fragrant spiced triple chocolate and espresso cake is the perfect sweet treat for cold, pre-Christmas days.
It’s as good as its name promises: moist, rich, lightly spiced and full of chocolaty goodness, with just a hint of espresso that will totally steal your heart.
I’ve used three types of chocolate for a real winning mix: 70% Dark, hazelnut spread and cocoa powder.
The baking time is pretty long but really worth the while!
If you want to serve it to children too, replace the coffee with the same amount of milk. The butter can be substituted with 200 gr. coconut oil in solid form. And in case you don’t like cardamom and/or cloves, use ground ginger, cinnamon or other spices.
TORTA AL TRIPLO CIOCCOLATO ED ESPRESSO
Ingredients:
250 gr. unsalted butter at room temperature (or 200 gr. coconut oil still in solid state)
250 gr. brown sugar
4 medium-sized eggs
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
20 gr. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons hazelnut chocolate spread
100 ml. (non-dairy) milk
50 ml. strong Italian espresso at room temperature
250 gr. plain flour
16 gr. instant yeast for cakes
150 gr. 70% dark chocolate
icing sugar
½ pomegranate
some extra butter or coconut oil
Spoon the butter (or solid coconut oil) into the bowl of a mixer. If you don’t have a mixer you can use an electric or manual whisk or a wooden ladle to mix everything inside a large bowl.
Add the sugar and mix until smooth.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites (keep the whites, you will use them later) and add them to the mixture, along with the ground clove and cardamom. Mix well.
Add the cocoa powder, three tablespoons of hazelnut chocolate spread, the espresso and the milk. Mix until you obtain a very smooth mixture.
Add the flour and the baking powder through a sieve to avoid lumps, then mix everything well.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and add them to the mixture.
Gently fold them in with a spoon or a spatula until everything looks smooth and homogeneous.
Finely chop or grate the dark chocolate and add it to the mixture, incorporating it well.
Lightly grease a round 22 cm. cake tin with butter or coconut oil, then line it with baking parchment.
Pour the mixture into the tin and level it well with a spatula.
Place the tin on a larger baking sheet (a little butter may leak during the baking process) and bake the cake in the preheated static oven at 150°C for 90 minutes or in a convection oven at 135°C for 80 minutes.
To check if the cake is ready, pierce it in the middle with a wooden skewer: if the skewer comes out dry, the cake is done. If not, bake it a little longer and check it regularly.
Let the cake cool, then garnish with a little icing sugar and a handful of pomegranate grains.
