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Flourless Chocolate Cake such a rich and decadent dessert recipe – it’s naturally gluten-free and has the best fudgy texture, almost like ganache. Serve it with fresh berries and whipped cream for an impressive dessert everyone will love.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you want to wow the chocolate lovers in your life, you have got to try this flourless chocolate cake recipe: it’s rich, decadent, and so, so good.
I didn’t learn about this type of chocolate cake until I saw Ina Garten and Nigella making them on their cooking shows. At the time (which feels like a million years ago), I thought it looked so complicated but I was wrong because when I finally tried making one, I was surprised at how easy it is to make.
Flourless Chocolate Cake is thick and rich, almost like a brownie, but less dense because there is no flour, almost like eating chocolate ganache. A small slice goes a long way – this is a dessert for a celebration!
Ingredients & Variations
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature. Eggs are really important because they are the structure of the cake.
- Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate: I like Ghirardelli or Baker’s. This is the chocolate you find in the baking aisle, not semisweet chocolate chips, but a bar of baking chocolate. You can also use bittersweet chocolate if you want it a bit less sweet.
- Butter: Use sliced unsalted butter so it melts faster.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: I normally use Hershey’s Natural Cocoa Powder (not Dutch Process) but you could use Dutch-Process cocoa if you want an even more intense chocolate flavor.
- Espresso Powder: You can use instant coffee if you can’t find espresso powder, or omit. It’s just for bringing out the chocolate flavor, it’s not an integral part of the recipe.
How to Make Flourless Chocolate Cake
1. Grease and flour your cake pan generously. Be sure to cover the bottom and up the sides. Use a parchment round (or cut a piece to fit) to line the bottom of the pan and then grease and flour it. If you don’t do those steps, your cake won’t release from the pan.
2. Create a double boiler by adding about an inch of water in a saucepan and placing a heat proof bowl over the top. Add the butter and broken chocolate to the bowl and place over low heat. Stir until the mixture is melted and smooth.
3. Stir sugar into melted chocolate, then stir in lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl and mix to combine. Sifting the cocoa is important so you don’t have lumps in your cake.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake at 375°F until the top is set. Cool the cake in the pan for five minutes. You’ll remove it while still warm.
Expert Tips
- To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp knife around the edge to loosen it. Then place a flat serving plate upside down on the pan and then carefully flip the plate and cake pan over to release the cake.
- To avoid the cake falling in the center, don’t mix it too vigorously. Stir or fold gently. Stirring too fast can incorporate air into the batter, which escapes during baking, causing it to fall.
Storage
Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and serving or storing. Store covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature 3-4 days or in the refrigerator a few days longer. I don’t recommend freezing this cake.
FAQ
As long as you use gluten-free flour to prepare the pan, it is gluten-free!
Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate such as Ghiradelli or Baker’s
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, sliced into tablespoons
- ⅔ cup (133g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour the bottom and all the way up the sides of an 8-inch cake pan. Use a parchment round or cut parchment to fit the bottom of the cake pan and then grease and flour that.
- Place eggs in a small bowl and whisk to lightly beat them. This is just to break up the yolks so it’s easier to mix into the cake batter. Set aside.
- We’re going to melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Fill a small or medium saucepan with 2-3 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Break up the baking chocolate and add it to a large heat-safe bowl (be sure your bowl will fit on top of the pan that’s boiling on the stove). Add the butter with the chocolate and place the bowl on top of the pot of boiling water. Be careful not to burn yourself and not to get any water into the chocolate mixture.
- Reduce heat to medium low and stir almost constantly until the chocolate and butter and smooth and melted.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar.
- Stir the eggs into the chocolate mixture and stir until the eggs are completely mixed in.
- Add the instant espresso and vanilla; stir.
- Place the cocoa in a sifter and sift it onto the cake batter. Stir until completely mix. Pour cake batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top looks solid. Mine took 25 minutes exactly at every test, but know that ovens all bake differently.
- Cool 5 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edge carefully to loosen. Invert serving plate over the cake pan and carefully flip over to remove the cake from the pan (be careful not to burn yourself). Remove pan and parchment. Allow cake to cool completely.
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Serving suggestions: dust with powdered sugar and/or cocoa, serve with raspberries or whipped cream.
Recipe Notes
- Do not substitute or change ingredients. This recipe is easy but can be finicky.
- When choosing a serving plate make sure to choose one that is flat. Do not use a rimmed dinner plate that dips in the center or the cake will fall in the center as it cools and adjusts to the contours of the plate.
- This cake is super rich so small slices are the way to go!
- I do not recommend freezing this cake.
- The outside will crumble a bit when you’re slicing but the center will be fudgy and rich.
- Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Recipe Nutrition
How to Serve Chocolate Decadence Cake
This flourless chocolate cake recipe is so decadent a little goes a long way! So, you can slice it into 16 pieces – trust me, one small slice will cure even the worst chocolate craving.The only thing better than a slice of this decadent chocolate cake is topping it with garnishes for a finishing touch!
- I love it with fresh raspberries on top, or you can try other fruit that you like.
- Dust the top with powdered sugar.
- Sprinkle with fine sea salt to counteract the rich sweetness.
- A dollop of homemade whipped cream with a sprig of fresh mint is so pretty.
- You could even serve it with your favorite flavor ice cream.
I make a similar cake and use a springform pan – makes it easy to get the cake out. I then pour a ganache over and let it set. I serve it with fresh whipped cream and a raspberry sauce. It’s great for special occasions. It’s wonderful cold – it’s like a piece of fudge.
I am gluten-free and it is a pain to find things that are gluten-free but also good. I haven’t had cake in a while because every recipe I’ve tried doesn’t work, but this cake works really well and tastes really good. I’ll be making it again. Probably tomorrow😂
This cake is really good–all five of my kids devoured it (ages 5 to 13). I would suggest a couple edits:
-I used Lindt 70% chocolate. It doesn’t result in a very sweet cake, so I would say a raspberry sauce would be excellent with this. (Food network has a great simple raspberry sauce recipe.) Next time, I may try breaking up the chocolate into some 70% and some milk chocolate to sweeten it up a bit.
-It is not necessary to whisk the eggs more in the first step than just what’s necessary to break the yolks. Enough whisking takes place later to finish the job.
-I used a 7″ pan and found that it took about 17 minutes to cook. Chilling it before serving will result in neater slices.. but the kids and I didn’t care.
Very similar to the King Arthur Flour recipe. I have found the recipe always a hit and very forgiving, although I prefer to use salted butter rather than unsalted. Useful tip: don’t use flour to dust the pan; just use about a half-tablespoon of sifted cocoa powder instead–works like a charm!!
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