My mother in law, Alessandra, has been kind enough to share this beautiful tenerina recipe with me so I can share it with you too. This soft and luscious gluten free Italian chocolate cake - one of my favourite traditional foods from Ferrara - is like a brownie, only lighter and more refined. Its cloud-like texture and rich flavour are truly delightful. And you don't need to be a seasoned baker to make it either! This recipe is wonderfully beginner-friendly.
Step 1
Seperate your egg yolks and edd whites in two bowls. Then break up your chocolate and butter into chunks.
This is also a good point to start heating your oven to 200°C.
You can use regular dark chocolate, cooking chocolate, or even chocolate chips. I usually use a combination of whatever I have around.
If using dairy-free butter, as I tend to do, you needn't break it up as it's naturally softer than real butter.
Step 2
Get out a small or medium pot and start melting the chocolate and butter together over a very low heat.
While the chocolate and butter are melting, add the icing sugar and vanilla extract to your yolks and combine until smooth and creamy.
Don't worry if you don'thave vanilla extract. It will be just as tasty without it. You can even find icing sugar pre-flavoured with vanilla, which I find super useful.
Make sure and use a big bowl for this as icing sugar has a habit of flying everywhere when you stir it!
Step 3
Pour the melted chocolate and butter into your yolk and sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Set aside.
Step 4
Beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric egg beater. A cheap, hand-held one will do.
And incorporate them with the rest of the tenerina mixture. I like to use a wooden spoon to do this, and be gentle.
Step 5
Your super soft tenerina is almost complete! Time to stir in the potato starch or gluten free flour alternative.
Any gluten-free flour will do. I like to use one made with a mixture of flours like potato, rice and corn.
Step 6
Grease a medium brownie tray or cake tin with a little butter and sprinkle flour over the butter. This will ensure the tenerina comes out with ease once it's cooked. This method works very nicel if using a silicone brownie tin.
Alternatively, you can use a traditional metal cake tin and line it with greaseproof paper.
Pour the mixture in, and bake your tenerina mix in the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes.
For a nice aesthetic flourish, you can sprinkle some icing sugar on your tenerina before serving. Just make sure it's fully cooled first.
And just like that, your tenerina - the best gluten free Italian chocolate cake you're likely to eat - is complete! Once its cooled, cut into slices or cubes. Then serve either with icecream or mascarpone, or even on its own.
What Texture Should A Tenerina Be?
The perfect tenerina texture is light, fluffy, and moist. Think of a brownie, but silkier.
It shouldn't have much of a chewy quality at all, except maybe around the edges.
If your tenerina seems too soft when you first take it out of the oven, don't panic. Like a brownie, tenerina keeps cooking a little as it cools before solidifying into its final texture.
Can I Make Tenerina in a Round Cake Tin?
Yes you can absolutely make tenerina in just about any cake, traybake or brownie tin you like!
This very tenerina recipe even works well in a large round cake tin, which is what we used last Christmas in absence of something smaller. The only difference was the slices were thinner, but the tenerina itself was just as delicious as always.
If you like cutting your tenerina into slices, like a cake, rather than in brownie-style squares, a round cake tin is perfect.
