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    Home » Recipes » Traditional Italian Dessert Recipes

    Italian Brownie Cake (Torta Tenerina)

    by kisitalian

    Torta Tenerina is a delicious light and chocolatey Italian dessert cake that tastes almost like a brownie in cake form. Many people like referring to this chocolate Italian dessert as an Italian brownie. We really love making this Torta Tenerina for special occasions and although there are a few more steps than making traditional brownies, it is well worth it!

    torta tenerina top view
    Torta Tenerina (Italian Chocolate Brownie Cake)
    Jump to Recipe

    About this Italian Chocolate Cake:

    Torta Tenerina is a beautiful Italian chocolate cake with a very distinct looking crackled sugar top. Much like what happens when you make a brownie, this crackled top is amazing on this cake and so much thicker than any brownie you can make.

    There are a few steps to making this delicious Italian cake since it is all from scratch but I promise you it is fool proof. This cake is best served straight from the cake pan since it does not do well with inverting (flipping it out).

    torta tenerina slice closeup
    Closeup of this delicious cake.

    Ingredients you need to make this Torta Tenerina:

    • Semi sweet chocolate bars. Traditionally this cake calls for dark chocolate but I much prefer using semi- sweet for the recipe. You want to start with bars of chocolate not chips since chocolate chips having a coating on them that affects the consistency of melted chocolate.
    • All purpose flour.
    • Unsalted butter.
    • Granulated sugar.
    • Eggs.
    • Vanilla
    • Kosher salt
    • Powdered sugar for topping.
    Italian brownie
    The Torta Tenerina dusted with powdered sugar after cooling.

    Why this is the best Torta Tenerina!

    One of the things I look for when making any recipe is whether it is easy enough for the home cook to make. This means techniques that can easily cause a problem are not what I am looking for.

    With this Torta Tenerina recipe, I have stripped out the difficult part of beating egg whites to a perfect peak. Now there is more forgiveness in how beaten the egg whites need to be and it works out perfect every time!

    torta tenerina cooling
    That perfect crackled Torta Tenerina crust.

    Here are the steps:

    Preparing the chocolate

    1. Chop up the chocolate bars.
    2. Add chocolate to double boiler.
    3. Stir in butter.
    4. Stir until glossy.

    The first thing you want to do when making this Torta Tenerina is melt your chocolate in a double boiler. A double boiler is a bowl that sits snug over a medium pot of simmering water.

    Once the chocolate is melted, you stir in the butter until the butter is melted and the chocolate is glossy.

    Preparing the other ingredients:

    5. Mix sugar into the egg yolks.
    6. Mix the egg yolks until pale yellow.
    7. Mix egg whites until foamy or just stiff.
    8. Mix cooled chocolate into whipped egg yolks.

    With this part of the recipe, you separate your eggs then mix sugar into the egg yolks and then whip the egg whites on their own. Once the melted chocolate you made earlier is cooled, you mix that into your whipped egg yolks.

    Putting it all together:

    9. Prepare your cake pan.
    10 Gently fold in your egg whites into your chocolate and egg yolk mixture.
    11. Add the flour and stir until combined.
    12. Pour into your cake pan and bake.

    Now is when everything comes together. You will be mixing all the different parts of the Torta Tenerina together and pouring it all into your prepared cake pan. The baking portion takes only 25- 30 minutes.

    This recipe is delicious and really makes the perfect baking project or cake for that special occasion!

    More Italian Desserts You May Like:

    • Ricotta Pie
    • Buttermilk Vanilla Panna Cotta
    • Sultana Cookies - Italian Cornmeal Cookies
    • Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
    • Italian Rice Pudding
    torta tenerina top view

    Italian Brownie Cake - Torta Tenerina

    A delicious Italian Chocolate cake that tastes like an Italian brownie.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Cooling 15 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 1 (9 inch cake)
    Calories 3324 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 9 inch cake pan buttered then flour added

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ½ cups Semi sweet chocolate (chopped) This is about 2 bars
    • 7 tablespoon unsalted butter cubed plus more for pan.
    • 4 eggs seperated
    • ¾ cup Granulated sugar
    • 7 tablespoon All purpose flour plus more for pan.
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

    Instructions
     

    • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

    Prepare the Cake Pan

    • Rub butter all over the inside of a 9 inch cake pan making sure to get all the way up the sides.
    • Now add about 1 tablespoon of sugar to the butter pan and gently shake the flour around the pan so it sticks to the butter.
    • Tap out any excess flour.

    Preparing the Chocolate

    • Chop the chocolate
      1 ½ cups Semi sweet chocolate (chopped)
    • Add chopped chocolate to a double boiler. This is a heat proof bowl that sits snug over a medium pot of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl.
    • Over medium heat, allow the chocolate to melt while stirring constantly.
    • Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and stir in your butter.
      7 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • Continue stirring the butter until the butter is fully melted and the chocolate looks glossy.
    • Set aside and allow to cool.

    Preparing the other ingredients

    • Separate your eggs adding the yolks to own medium bowl and the whites to another medium bowl.
      4 eggs
    • Grab your bowl of egg yolks and add the sugar.
      ¾ cup Granulated sugar
    • With a hand mixer mix on medium speed until pale yellow then set aside.
    • Now with the same hand mixer (make sure to clean attachment) whip the egg whites until it thicken and becomes frothy. You can mix up to the point of soft egg white peaks.
    • Set aside.
    • Grab your cooled melted chocolate and mix that into your whipped egg yolks along with your vanilla until combined.
      1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • Add the flour and salt to your chocolate and egg yolk mixture and mix until combined.
      7 tablespoon All purpose flour, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
    • Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until combined.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
    • Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into about 3 inches from the outside of the pan comes out clean.
    • Remove and let cool.
      torta tenerina cooling
    • Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.
      Italian brownie

    Nutrition

    Calories: 3324kcalCarbohydrates: 334gProtein: 45gFat: 201gSaturated Fat: 115gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 58gTrans Fat: 3gCholesterol: 882mgSodium: 582mgPotassium: 1876mgFiber: 23gSugar: 251gVitamin A: 3534IUCalcium: 300mgIron: 23mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Traditional Italian Dessert Recipes

    • Italian rice pudding
      Italian Rice Pudding
    • buttermilk panna cotta
      Buttermilk Vanilla Panna Cotta
    • ricotta cookies with lemon glaze
      Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
    • plate of cornmeal cookies
      Italian Sultana Cookies (Cornmeal Cookies)

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Pradeep

      March 08, 2022 at 5:36 pm

      5 stars
      This was absolutely delicious.

      Reply
    2. Mike

      September 01, 2022 at 6:39 pm

      5 stars
      This is so much better than chocolate cake and American brownies. It was so good. Even better with ice cream

      Reply
    3. Angela

      September 08, 2022 at 10:08 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for my husband’s birthday and he loved it. Thanks for the recipe

      Reply
      • kisitalian

        September 08, 2022 at 10:10 pm

        I am so glad to hear that 🙂

        Reply
    4. Meg

      November 04, 2022 at 10:08 pm

      5 stars
      This came out so beautiful! It was loved by everyone 😊

      Reply
    5. Jeanne

      November 10, 2022 at 6:07 pm

      5 stars
      Made this over the weekend and WOW! This was like the perfect brownie but in cake form. Very delicious

      Reply
      • kisitalian

        November 10, 2022 at 10:29 pm

        Love hearing that!

        Reply
    6. Lauren

      November 23, 2022 at 5:29 pm

      What is the baking temperature?? I’ve got all the ingredients and went to preheat the oven and I have no idea what temp to bake 😭

      Reply
      • kisitalian

        November 23, 2022 at 5:47 pm

        Hi Lauren. It is 350 degrees 🙂

        Reply

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