Giada De Laurentiis’ 8-Ingredient Chocolate Amaretti Cake

For a decadent Italian dessert that’s easy to make, try Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis’ Chocolate Amaretti Cake infused with deep chocolate and almond flavors.

It’s just sweet enough for that afternoon coffee break.

De Laurentiis’ cake is an Italian delight

The chef’s recipe needs just a handful of ingredients: semisweet chocolate chips, slivered almonds, baby amaretti cookies, unsalted butter at room temperature, sugar, grated orange peel, eggs, and cocoa powder. You’ll also need a 9-inch springform pan for this cake.

De Laurentiis says in the Food Network video, link below, for this recipe, “Italians have been developing their desserts for centuries. And Chocolate Amaretti Cake proves that all the hard work paid off.”

Get the complete recipe, video, and reviews on Food Network’s site.

Giada De Laurentiis’ dessert is both simple and elegant

“What I love about this cake,” De Laurentiis continues, “is that I can throw everything into the food processor.”

The pan is sprayed with cooking spray and refrigerated. The chef then melts the chocolate in the microwave, stirring it every few seconds until it’s completely smooth. 

She breaks down the almonds and cookies in a food processor, pulsing them “until the almonds and cookies are finely ground.” 

“Italians love using almonds in their desserts, cakes, and candies,” she says. “In the south, they even use them in pasta sauces; that’s how good [the almonds] are.” The chef also points out that the crushed almonds and cookies will “act as the flour, since there’s no flour in this recipe.”

The mixture is then placed in a bowl. The softened butter and sugar are then placed in the processor and blended, followed by the orange peel and eggs. “You always want to use unsalted butter when baking. You want to control the amount of salt that you’ll end up with in your cake,” she says.

The nut mixture is added to the rest of the ingredients in the processor, as well as the melted chocolate.

This chocolaty batter is poured into the springform pan and baked in a 350-degree F oven for about 15 minutes.

Home cooks adored De Laurentiis’ ‘phenomenal’ dessert

Displaying the best of Italian baking, De Laurentiis’ cake is aromatic, delicious, and irresistible, as many Food Network reviewers noted.

Some home cooks noted that the amaretti cookies may be difficult to find in stores and can be found online or, if one is feeling ambitious, can be baked at home, too.

“This is a fantastic cake. The almond flavor really takes it to another level. The texture is phenomenal: smoothe, fudgy, and chocolately. Not too sweet. Kind of like a cake and a brownie combined. Be careful not to overmix,” one home cook wrote.

Another person said, “The cake is delicious & decadent … Light but yet solid..TRUE Italian dessert.”

Others added, “This is our new family favorite! I can’t say enough about how wonderful this dessert is!,” and “This cake is so simple and so delicious. Wonderfully moist and chocolaty! The Amaretti cookies and orange peel with the chocolate are a wonderful combination! Thank you Giada!”