Chocolate cake from Ferrara

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 g butter
• 4 eggs
• 150 g sugar
• 50 g flour
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• Butter to grease the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Tenerife cake

For a double boiler, place a small saucepan inside a slightly larger saucepan and fill the larger pan with enough water so that the smaller pan is about 1 cm below the surface. Break 200 g of dark chocolate into pieces and add it to the small pan. Heat the water, but do not let it boil. As soon as the chocolate begins to melt, stir with a wooden spoon. The temperature should be between 32 and 50 degrees Celsius. Once the chocolate has melted, add 100 g of butter in pieces and continue stirring until it is completely melted. Remove from the heat and let it cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, separate four eggs and put the yolks and egg whites into a larger mixing bowl. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then stir in 75 g of sugar until stiff peaks form. Add 75 g of sugar to the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture has roughly the color and consistency of margarine. Mix the cooled chocolate into the egg yolks. Using a spatula, carefully but thoroughly fold in the egg white mixture, followed by 50g of flour, working from the bottom up. Preheat the oven to 170°C (top/bottom heat). Grease a cake tin (approx. 26cm in diameter) with butter and pour in the cake mixture. Bake at 170°C (top/bottom heat) for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool and dust generously with icing sugar. Note: This cake was created in Ferrara in 1896 for the wedding of Vittorio Emanuele III to Princess Elena of Montenegro (1873-1952), also known as Montenegrina. In Ferrara, it is also known as “Torta tacolenta,” which roughly translates to “sticky.”