This Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe only requires ingredients you likely already have in your pantry and refrigerator! And it’s sure to impress any chocolate lover with its fudge-like texture that’s rich with flavor!
Did I mention it’s naturally gluten-free too! And you can top it with Chocolate Ganache, Raspberry Filling, powdered sugar, ice cream, or fresh fruit!
I love this Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe because of how simple it is to make and how ridiculously delicious it is! Even though this is a dessert you often find at fancy restaurants, it doesn’t require any special skills, equipment, or ingredients! And it takes less than 1 hour to make start to finish!
What Is It Made Of?
Chocolate – You can’t have a chocolate cake without chocolate! In this case, I chose to use chocolate chips and for the best flavor, I used a blend of milk and dark chocolate. Use high-quality chocolate for the best results. I like Ghirardelli, Godiva, and Guittard.
Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter in this recipe, this gives you full control over the amount of salt within the recipe. It’s also important to make sure the butter is completely melted.
Melted butter loses the ability to cream and hold air when beaten, this is part of how we achieve that delicious fudge-like texture in the flourless chocolate cake.
Sugar – In this recipe, you’ll find both granulated sugar and light brown sugar. These are to add sweetness and flavor to the recipe. You could also use dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor.
Vanilla – Another flavor factor in this cake, you can use extract or paste.
Eggs – You might think that chocolate is the backbone of this recipe, but you’d be wrong. It’s the eggs. I tested this recipe with 3 eggs, 4 eggs, egg yolks, and a couple of other combos.
4 large eggs are definitely the way to go. Eggs add moisture, fat, and help replace the flour by acting as an emulsifier in the recipe and solidifying a fudgy, smooth texture.
Coffee – I tested this recipe with espresso powder and hot water and hot coffee and the coffee route had a much better flavor. And it also results in a simpler recipe since most don’t have espresso powder in the pantries. Coffee helps intensify the chocolate flavor, but the cake will not taste like coffee.
Cocoa Powder – Another layer of chocolate never hurt anyone, amirite? I used Dutch-process cocoa powder in this recipe, but unsweetened cocoa powder may also be used if that’s what you have on hand.
Salt –It’s actually a really important ingredient in baked goods. It helps highlight the flavor and offset the sweetness for a more palatable bite.
How To Make It
I tested this recipe for three weeks and can tell you that even the smallest changes to the recipe make a big difference. So follow the recipe to a T for best results!
Step 1: Begin by melting the chocolate and butter separately. Then add it to a large mixing bowl with the sugars, vanilla, and salt.
Step 2: Mix in the eggs one at a time. Beat each one until no yolk is visible before adding the next.
Step 3: Beat in the cocoa powder at medium speed just until combined.
Step 4: Add to a greased and parchment-lined cake pan and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F until done.
Expert Tips
- I like to use a mix of half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate chips for a deeper flavor. However, any combination of chocolate chips may be used.
- Dark brown sugar may be used instead of light for a deeper molasses flavor.
- If you do not have coffee or prefer not to use it in your recipes, you can use hot water instead. The flavor will change slightly but it will still be delicious.
- Make sure to pull your eggs out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you being mixing the batter. Room temperature eggs will mix better and give the cake more lift which is important since this cake doesn’t contain flour or leavening agents.
- Regular cocoa powder can be used but I thought the test cakes with Dutch-process turned out better flavor-wise.
- Make sure to use a 9-inch round cake pan. I tested the recipe in an 8-inch cake pan and it came very close to the top when baking and it could spill over. A springform pan may also be used.
- The cake is done when it has very little wiggle when moved and a toothpick comes *almost* clean from the center. If it comes clean, pull it out, as it is overcooked.
- The cake will have some cracking on the top, this is perfectly normal.
- The cake will sink after being out of the oven for a few minutes, this is expected.
- Once refrigerated, the cake will harden. If you do need to chill it, remove it 2 to 3 hours before serving so that it may soften a bit.
Frequently Asked Questions
This isn’t a cake that people regularly make at home (but it should be) and therefore you might have some questions that I want to answer to set you up for success when baking this cake!
Again, you should expect your cake to sink after being removed from the oven. And once it does, any cracks will look very minor!
The whole cake without toppings has a little less than 3000 calories. When sliced into 12 slices, which is plenty based on the richness of the cake, each slice has just under 250 calories each.
Adding chocolate ganache will add an additional 2000 calories to the whole cake. Approximately 170 additional calories per slice.
It’s normal for a flourless chocolate torte to crack. There are some recipes that call for straining the batter before adding it to the pan to get rid of the bubbles. But honestly, who has time for that?
A few things you can do to reduce cracking is to use a whisk instead of a hand mixer or stand mixer. You can also tap out some of the bubbles in the batter by gently tapping the pan on the counter before placing in the oven.
Cracks are easily covered by Ganache or Whipped Cream if you choose to use it!
You can see that my cake had fairly large cracks in it straight out of the oven in the image below.
Yes, it’s naturally gluten-free! No need for special flours or other ingredients, it simply doesn’t need flour to complete the recipe!
No, it’s not, since it contains butter and eggs. However, my Wacky Chocolate Cake is naturally vegan and very easy to make!
Shelf Life:
- Room Temperature: 2 days
- Refrigerator: 4 days (see recipe card notes)
- Freezer: 4 months
How to Freeze:
Bake the cake according to the directions and allow it to cool completely. Wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and place it in a 2-gallon freezer bag.
When you’re ready to thaw, unwrap the cake and leave at room temperature. Add toppings once thawed.
More Chocolate Recipes
Flourless Chocolate Cake
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Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate chips1
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar2
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup hot coffee3
- 4 large eggs4 room temperature
- ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder5
- 1 batch Chocolate Ganache Recipe optional
- raspberries optional
- powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9-inch round cake pan6 with parchment paper and grease with non-stick spray.
- Melt chocolate and butter separately on the microwave on 30-second intervals, stirring between each one. Add them to a large mixing bowl along with the sugars, vanilla, salt, and coffee. Mix until fully combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time whisking between each addition until no yolk is visible.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder until completely combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 to 32 minutes, a toothpick or cake tester should come out mostly clean with some crumb/chocolate.7,8
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before gently inverting onto a plate or cake stand.9
- Serve with raspberry filling, chocolate ganache, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and/or fresh fruit or store for future enjoyment.10,11,12
Video
Notes
- I like to use a mix of half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate chips for deeper flavor. However, any combination of chocolate chips may be used.
- Dark brown sugar may be used instead of light for a deeper molasses flavor.
- If you do not have coffee or prefer not to use it in your recipes, you can use hot water instead. The flavor will change slightly but it will still be delicious.
- Make sure to pull your eggs out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you being mixing the batter. Room temperature eggs will mix better and give the cake more lift which is important since this cake doesn’t contain flour or leavening agents.
- Regular cocoa powder can be used but I thought the test cakes with Dutch-process turned out better flavor-wise.
- Make sure to use a 9-inch round cake pan. I tested the recipe in an 8-inch cake pan and it came very close to the top when it rose and it could spill over. A springform pan may also be used.
- The cake is done when it has very little wiggle when moved and a toothpick comes *almost* clean from the center. If it come clean, pull it out, as it is overcooked.
- The cake will have some cracking on the top, this is perfectly normal.
- The cake will sink after being out of the oven a few minutes, this is expected.
- Once refrigerated, the cake will harden. If you do need to chill it, remove it 2 to 3 hours before serving so that it may soften a bit.
- Shelf Life:
- Room Temperature: 2 days
- Refrigerator: 4 days
- Freezer: 4 months
- How To Freeze: Bake the cake according to the directions and allow it to cool completely. Wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and place it in a 2-gallon freezer bag. When you’re ready to thaw, unwrap the cake and leave at room temperature. Add toppings once thawed.
Karen says
It was so easy and a huge hit!!
Kelly says
Wondering if you can sub cacao for cocoa and if so, would it be the same measurements? Thanks!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Kelly, you can substitute with an even amount. It might change the flavor slightly though.