Fudgey and decadent, this is my (extremely) easy flourless chocolate cake made using almond flour. No beating egg whites – I find it works better to use a touch of baking powder instead. The surface of the cake stays level rather than rising then collapsing into a crater, and the inside has a tender crumb instead of being dense. And the added bonus is that it’s ridiculously fast to make!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
This recipe is how I make flourless chocolate cake which is not the usual way but I think it yields better results with the bonus that it’s easier to make. That’s a double win in my books!
Usually, flourless chocolate cake is made by beating egg whites then folding it through the batter to make it rise. However, I almost always found that the cake would rise while baking, but then collapse into a crater while cooling. Or, if it didn’t collapse while cooling, I would tip toe around it with fear that the slightest floor vibration would make it collapse, and scold Dozer if he dared to trot through the house with his heavy footed paws.
Even if it held up while cooling, with the first cut, it would definitely collapse. And forget decorations! OR – use the decorations to hide the crater.
You get my drift. I like flourless chocolate cake – and one of my best friends’ is gluten free. The crater surface annoyed me.
So I fixed it. 🙂 A simple “dump and mix” version made with the aid of a bit of baking powder which makes the same fudge flourless chocolate cake that is much more stable.
It took a few goes to get it right. I was interested to find that almond flour / almond meal is highly sensitive to baking powder. Normally, the flour to baking powder ratio is 1 cup : 2 teaspoons, so I tried this with almond flour. The lift this gave the cake while baking was astonishing – it almost overflowed.
Then when I took it out of the oven, it collapsed.
Again – a crater. Humph!
So I tried again, drastically cutting down the baking powder to 1/4 tsp to 1 cup of almond flour. And was amazed that it worked – perfectly. Enough lift to give this cake a crumb like a cake, rather than being brownie-fudgey, but not so much that the surface rises then collapses into a carter surface.
No more craters! No more craters!
It is really hard to capture the texture of this cake in photos. It’s fudgey, but not dense fudgey like brownies. It’s got more of a cake-like texture, but it is much fudgier than normal cakes. Fudgier than my Chocolate Fudge Cake.
It looks like it’s going to crumble but it doesn’t because it’s so moist. It’s intensely chocolatey with beautiful almond undertones, and the surface has a fine crackly layer – like brownies.
It’s really, really good. I’ve made it multiple times since I created it and have no intentions of ever reverting back to the “normal” way of making flourless chocolate cakes i.e. beating egg whites. It’s not just easier. I truly think this is better.
And…you know…..NO CRATER SURFACE!!!! 😉 – Nagi xx
PS. I’ve also finally shared my Whole Orange Cake, which is also flourless and child’s play to make! It’s the cake I made at a wedding I’ve spoken about previously which was held on a remote river. I made a tiered wedding cake from scratch without an oven. Curious…???
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe video! Best way to see the texture of the cake i.e. moist, tender crumb but fudgey, not dense and mud cake like. It was difficult to capture in photos. 🙂
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Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (Note 1)
- 120g / 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature (60g/2oz each+) (Note 2)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder , sfited (preferably Dutch processed i.e. the more expensive stuff)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups almond meal / almond flour (or hazelnut flour)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (160°C fan).
- Butter and line a 20cm / 8" spring form pan.
- Melt chocolate and butter in microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between until smooth.
- Whisk in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, whisking well until combined,
- Switch to wooden spoon. Add cocoa powder, baking powder and almond meal, fold through until just combined.
- Pour batter into pan, bake 45 min until top has thin crust and skewer comes out clean, not smeared with batter.
- Cool cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove sides. Cool completely on rack before carefully removing base.
- Dust with cocoa powder then serve. I served mine with strawberries and dollop cream, but it doesn’t need it!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Dozer only has 5 modes: #1 Sleeping #2 Eating #3 Hoping to eat #4 Playing #5 Hoping to play.
This is #5. (And you’ll see #3 in the video).
My family love it when I bring this cake for lunch. With raspberries and cream it’s divine and very easy. Thanks for a great recipe!
Can I use locanto sugar or brown sugar for this recipe? If not can you explain why?
Thanks
Best flourless chocolate cake I have ever tasted👌🏼 Highly recommend
Hi, can I use Milk Chocolate in this recipe, in place of Dark Chocolate? I have no Dark Chocolate on hand.
I made the flourless chocolate cake this afternoon it turned out perfectly. I think I’ll serve it with strawberries and cream as suggested. Looking forward to tasting it tomorrow.
Thanks Nagi for all your amazing recipes.
I don’t know why but when I use the fan forced temp and timing I always need to add another 20-30 mins !
I made this for Christmas dessert and it turned out perfectly. And pairs very nicely in a bowl with a slice of pavlova too! I used a 23cm springform cake tin as that’s all I had – for those wondering, yes it works just fine just comes out thinner. I began checking on it at 35 mins in 5 min intervals but in my (not so great oven) it still needed 45 mins. Such an easy and impressive one!
.. thank you Nagi – this chocolate cake is devine and so easy to make. do you think I could fold raspberries through the mix before baking like your White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf ? I thought that would be fabulous for Christmas Day xx
Hi Meg, I baked this flourless chocolate cake for Christmas too. I don’t know if you can put raspberries in the cake batter, but, for one occasion, I served the cake with raspberries on the side and a yummy White Chocolate and Rum Custard. I got the recipe for the custard from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook “How To Be A Domestic Goddess” (which I bought second hand and I really recommend, as she’s got some wonderful recipes in it.) If you want to make the Custard, you just need to beat 5 large egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of caster sugar, 1 to 2 tablespoons of dark rum, and 1 tablespoon of plain flour (the flour stops the custard curdling.) Now, heat 2 1/4 cups of thickened cream in a large saucepan until it’s almost boiling, and then pour the cream over the egg mixture, whisking it all together. Now, pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and cook it over a low to medium heat until the custard is thick and smooth. Now, you need to add 120gm of melted white chocolate and whisking it into the custard thoroughly. You can either serve the custard with the chocolate cake and the raspberries immediately, or, if you want to serve this later, just cover the custard with a sheet of damp baking paper (to prevent a skin forming on top of it) and place the custard in the fridge. You can reheat it later in the bowl by placing the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stirring the custard until it’s warm. I hope you try this addition to the plain chocolate cake. It’s really yummy and not too hard to make 😋 😅, Cheers from Amanda Jones
Hi Nagi
this is a question … haven’t made it yet I guess I can freeze it ? But just checking
cheers Komal
ps I make lots of your recipes
they are always good
Dear Nagi
I made this at xmas ,it was well received , I am making it today as a birthday cake for my partners dad’s 97th
We have to travel a long way up north so freezing it and considering making another layer .. then putting it together when we get there… hope it works
I’m thinking of making a two layers as well. How did it go for you? Any tips?
Fantastic recipe! No crater … yeah! I have made a similar recipe before, with a ‘crater’ but this was easier with a much better outcome. Thank you 🌷
Hi. This is a wonderful cake. You suggest weighing the chocolate if you can’t get small bits. Can you please tell me the weight it should be? Thanks!
Under the ‘Ingredients’ heading in the actual recipe, highlight ‘Metric’ and you’ll see the weight in grams. If unfamiliar with grams, there are multiple conversion tools on the internet. Hope this helps
This is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made and eaten. So easy to make, so delicious to eat. If you’re in Australia I highly recommend making it with Haighs dark chocolate pastilles. A match made in heaven.
Hi,
I am trying to make the healthiest chocolate cake. I love almond meal instead of flour, as it gives the cake this extra density & richness. The butter seems to be the key, is there any healthier substitute by any chance? I find olive coconut or oil tends not to work as well as butter 😌 Any tips?! And can I use brown sugar or honey perhaps instead? Thanks!
I found this recipe a couple of years ago and it has become my go to #1 especially since I’m not good at baking this one is fool proof. Take an hour to assemble the cake, with love admiring each ingredient. It makes the experience so special. Now I make it for birthdays, special events and even just because. It’s joyful to make. Create and eat !
what brand can you recommend for dark chocolate chips?
I’m just wondering if it works with in individual ramekins.
If so, how long to bake?
OMG this is so delicious I can’t stop eating it. You nailed it out again Nagi. I am so extremely happy I find your website.
I made this for my husband for his birthday, doubled the recipe to make a double layer and used a chocolate ganache just to jazz it up with a bit of birthday icing. He said it is the best cake he has ever eaten! Thanks for a great recipe and VERY easy to make, wow, I can’t believe how easy it was.
I forgot to add too that I was slightly short on almond flour and so I used a little bit of gluten free self-raising flour because my son is gluten free (about 60 grams – remember I did a double up recipe). It was perfect.
I made this for my husband for his birthday, doubled the recipe to make a double layer and used a chocolate ganache just to jazz it up with a bit of birthday icing. He said it is the best cake he has ever eaten! Thanks for a great recipe and VERY easy to make, wow, I can’t believe how easy it was.