Flourless Chocolate Cake
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I wanted to share this wonderful recipe with you guys. This would be a great dessert for your loved one, but it's also just amazing any time of the year. It's not your typical flourless chocolate cake. Rather it's fudgy, but not very dense. Light and almost melts in your mouth with how light it is. The chocolate flavor is pronounced due to using both actual chocolate and cocoa powder, along with some coffee granules which intensify the chocolate flavor. You won't miss the flour at all. This flourless chocolate cake is easier to make than you think and the result is out of this world good.
REASONS YOU SHOULD TRY THIS RECIPE:
- a wonderful dessert for Valentine's Day or any other day
- you won't miss the flour, this cake is so fudgy but still light
HOW TO MAKE FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE:
- Note: To succeed with this recipe, you must get your prep work out of the way. Get all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go. Do the same with your pan and pot. The reason for this is we're using a meringue in this recipe and meringues are time-sensitive. They must be used immediately. So you want to be sure you have everything ready to go. Prep your 8" cake pan by greasing it with pan grease, cooking spray, and cocoa powder. Pour out the excess cocoa powder and your pan should be coated. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Place your butter, salt, cocoa powder, coffee granules, and chopped chocolate (I used Ghirardelli baking bars with a mix of semi-sweet and bittersweet) in a heat-safe large bowl. Set aside.
- Set up a double boiler by pouring about 3 cups of water into a large pot and heat until it reaches a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, turn your heat down to low heat and place your bowl with the butter and chocolate over the pot of water. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to mix this mixture until fully melted. Once fully melted, turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the pot so the chocolate remains melted. Set aside.
- When you're ready to start the yolks, remove the chocolate mixture from the double boiler and mix in the vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and begin to whisk them until they become thicker, and lighter in color, and the mixture forms ribbons off your whisk when you lift your whisk up from the yolks.
- Pour your beaten yolks into your chocolate mixture and begin to gently fold in until just combined and no streaks of yellow show. Don't overfold. Set aside.
- Next, start whipping your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer on medium speed. Gradually add in the granulated sugar. Whip until the egg whites are bright white, glossy, thick, and reach a soft peak. The meringue should come off your whip attachment easily.
- Gently pour half the meringue into the chocolate and yolk mixture. Gently fold in the meringue just a bit. Pour in the rest of the meringue and gently fold in until nearly all the white streaks are gone. Don't overfold! We want to keep that air in the cake.
- Gently pour your batter into your prepared cake pan. Use an offset spatula to gently even out the batter.
- Bake at 375°F for 20-23 minutes. Mine was perfect at about the 20-minute mark, but some ovens run hotter than others. I'd highly recommend you check at the 15-minute mark with your toothpick. If you stick your toothpick into the middle and it comes out with a few moist crumbs, but not liquid, you know it's ready.
- Out of the oven, allow it to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before turning out to a cooling rack or cake board. If you see a small crack in the middle, that's normal and fine. Also, the cake will shrink in the pan and the sides will shrink. That's normal as well.
- Run an offset spatula around the sides and gently turn the cake out carefully. If a bit sticks to the pan, no worries, you can fix it and even cover the top with whipped cream, berries, powdered sugar, or whatever you please. Decorate as you wish!
SOME GREAT CHOCOLATE RECIPES:
Flourless Chocolate Cake
One 8" Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Mixture
- 7.05 oz chopped chocolate I recommend Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bars. I used 4 oz of semi-sweet and the rest was bittersweet.
- 3.3 oz unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon NesCafe Taster's Choice Instant Coffee Granules - Light Blend
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yolks
- 2.65 oz egg yolks room temp
Meringue
- 6.35 oz egg whites room temp
- 1.95 oz granulated sugar
Instructions
- Place your butter, salt, cocoa powder, coffee granules, and chopped chocolate (I used Ghirardelli baking bars with a mix of semi-sweet and bittersweet) in a heat-safe large bowl. Set aside.
- Set up a double boiler by pouring about 3 cups of water in a large pot and heat until it reaches a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, turn your heat down to low heat and place your bowl with the butter and chocolate over the pot of water. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to mix this mixture until fully melted. Once fully melted, turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the pot so the chocolate remains melted. Set aside.
- When you're ready to start the yolks, remove the chocolate mixture from the double boiler and mix in the vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and begin to whisk them until they become thicker, lighter in color, and the mixture forms ribbons off your whisk when you lift your whisk up from the yolks.
- Pour your beaten yolks into your chocolate mixture and begin to gently fold in until just combined and no streaks of yellow show. Don't overfold. Set aside.
- Next, start whipping your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer on a medium speed. Gradually add in the granulated sugar. Whip until the egg whites are bright white, glossy, thick, and reach a soft peak. The meringue should come off your whip attachment easily.
- Gently pour half the meringue into the chocolate and yolk mixture. Gently fold in the meringue just a bit. Pour in the rest of the meringue and gently fold in until nearly all the white streaks are gone. Don't overfold! We want to keep that air in the cake.
- Gently pour your batter into your prepared cake pan. Use an offset spatula to gently even out the batter.
- Bake at 375°F for 20-23 minutes. Mine was perfect at about the 20-minute mark, but some ovens run hotter than others. I'd highly recommend you check at the 15-minute mark with your toothpick. If you stick your toothpick into the middle and it comes out with a few moist crumbs, but not liquid, you know it's ready.
- Out of the oven, allow it to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before turn out to a cooling rack or cake board. If you see a small crack in the middle, that's normal and fine. Also, the cake will shrink in the pan and the sides will shrink. That's normal as well.
- Run an offset spatula around the sides and gently turn the cake out carefully. If a bit sticks to the pan, no worries, you can fix it and even cover the top with whipped cream, berries, powdered sugar, or whatever you please. Decorate as you wish!
