Tasty Tuesday!

Sweets for Your Sweet!

Happy day, reader dear!

And welcome to Closet Play Image! Special greetings to those of you who just popped over from Jo’s blog. Thank you for stopping by! If you are new here, I’m Liz, an Image, Wardrobe & Color Consultant. My mission? Making the world more beautiful, one outfit at a time…

Today’s blog post is WAY out of my lane. I am no food blogger, but I do LOVE to cook and eat! Leslie of Once Upon A Time Happily Ever After invited me to play Blog Hop and Recipe Swap with her and her friends, and I’m down for trying something new, so today you get a different kind of style.

Food Style!

I’d love to say my recipe is home grown, that I am just a whiz and came up with it all by myself. But it’s not. What I do well is take recipes and tweak them to make them mine. (Just like I do with what’s hanging in your closet. But in that case I make the look all YOURS, not mine! Because who needs another Liz running around? Not this world!)

Today your treat is my variation of Torta Caprese. Let’s call it Torta Caprese all’Arancia (Caprese Cake with Orange). I fell in love with the combination of Chocolate and Orange when we lived in Spain, (Valencia Oranges, people!) and that love intensified when we lived in England where they are all about fruit and chocolate combinations. Jaffa Cakes (Not really a cake.) anyone? Mmmmmm. Last summer when planning our Capri Staycation, I discovered Giada De Laurentiis’ Torta Caprese recipe and have made it a few times since. Because I can’t leave well enough alone, this time I added orange! If you don’t like chocolate and orange, simply leave out the zest.

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Why I LOVE This Treat

My favorite baked good might be brownies. Browwwwwnieeeeees! Rich. Dark. Gooey. Chewy. This cake is what Mr. CP called a “fancy Italian brownie.” He’s not far off! Torta Caprese is dark. Rich. Chewy. (Not gooey.) The fact that this recipe is naturally gluten-free makes it a bonus for our family, since my DIL can’t tolerate gluten. It’s nice to have a GF dessert recipe or two in my back pocket!

Torta Caprese all’Arancia

Ingredients (Ingredienti)

1 1/2 cups (63%) bittersweet chocolate chips (I couldn’t find 63%; I use the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips.)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan 

5 large eggs, separated 

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 cup granulated sugar 

1 1/2 cups almond flour 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Grated Zest of 1 Orange

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting 

Thin Orange Slices for garnish, optional

Directions (Istruzioni)

This is a multiple bowl recipe. Don’t run away! It’s worth the extra dirty dishes! Please read through all the instructions before you begin…

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth. Allow to cool, until just warm to the touch. (I know some will use the microwave. I don’t have one. Yes, I’m strange.)
3. Butter the inside of a 9-inch springform pan.
4. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a medium bowl with the salt. Pup the yolks in a large bowl with the granulated sugar.
5. With a handheld mixer, beat the whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Then beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium speed until light, pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. (This is where I wished I had two mixers! I beat the whites first and transferred them into a cold bowl. Then I used the mixer to beat the yolks and sugar.)
6. Using a rubber spatula, stir the chocolate mixture, almond flour and vanilla and orange zest into the yolks. Once that is smooth, fold the whipped whites into the chocolate base. Fold about half the whites in to loosen up the (VERY thick) chocolate base. Then fold in the remaining whites.
7. Pour (Scoop?) the mixture into your prepared pan. Bake about 40 minutes. The torta will be puffed and beginning to crack on top. Cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Once cool, loosen the cake buy running a thin knife or spatula around the edge of the pan. Remove the outside ring and dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. If desired, garnish with thin slices of orange when serving.

In general, I am a one bowl/one pan recipe woman. But this recipe is worth the extra clean up! Really!

A Favor…

Now to ask a favor of you. Please visit other blogs in the hop! I’m linking you to Jamie at No Delusions of Grandeur. She blogs about lifestyle, fashion and homeschool. I can’t wait to see what sweet treat she’s sharing!

So How About You?

What’s your favorite treat to make for your sweet? You are your own sweet, you know! Or what would you like your sweet to make for you? If you blog, have you ever participated in a Blog Hop before? Am I the last one to the party? Have you ever made a Torta Caprese? Do you avoid multiple bowl recipes like I do? Please let me know… I LOVE to hear from you!

Stylishly AND Sweetly Yours,