Pumpkin Tenerina Cake

The Tenerina Cake is a chocolate cake typical of Ferrara, but I can suggest to you a delicious variant that includes pumpkin, a very versatile ingredient that is valid in both sweet and savory preparations. Here’s how to make a Pumpkin Tenerina Cake with an Italian touch.

Ingredients

• 250 g of pumpkin (already cleaned and steamed or baked)
• 200 g of dark chocolate
• 100 g of butter
• 100 g of sugar
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 50 g of all-purpose flour
• 1 sachet of vanillin or a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Icing sugar (optional, for decoration)

Preparation

1. Start by preheating the oven to 180 °C and line a cake tin with parchment paper or grease it and lightly flour it.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler with the butter. Once melted, mix well and allow it to cool slightly.
3. Pass the cooked pumpkin through a food mill or blend it until you get a smooth puree.
4. In another bowl, separate the yolks from the whites. Beat the whites until stiff with a pinch of salt.
5. Add sugar to the yolks and whisk them until you get a light and fluffy mixture.
6. Combine the yolk mixture with the chocolate and butter syrup, the pumpkin puree, and mix well.
7. Add the sifted flour and vanillin (or vanilla extract) and gently mix.
8. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites, being careful not to deflate them, mixing from the bottom up.
9. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface slightly.
10. Bake for about 25-30 minutes: the cake should be moist in the center but cooked on the edges. The exact time may vary depending on your oven.
11. Allow the cake to cool before removing it from the mold. If you wish, once cooled, you can dust with icing sugar.

This recipe maintains the soft and moist heart of the Tenerina Cake and at the same time acquires a delicate pumpkin flavor that pairs perfectly with chocolate.

Fun Fact

The Tenerina Cake owes its name to its particularly soft and moist texture, almost “tender”. The presence of pumpkin in this version not only adds flavor and color but also helps to maintain a delicious moistness in the cake, honoring the name “Tenerina”.