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).
Would I be able to use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate?
Would this work as cupcakes?
Hi Suha, this one is a little dense for cupcakes sorry! N x
Super easy and works every time! Best of all it’s delicious 😋
Hi! I’m making a cake for my daughters birthday- I need to get it done right now! I font have any coco powder – do you think leaving it out will ruin the recipe? (I’ve got cacao but I think that’s very different!)
Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah, yes leaving it out will ruin the recipe unfortunately – it’s a chocolate cake and does require the cocoa for flavour. N x
I baked this for my hubby’s birthday and it was a huge hit in our house. I decorated it with whipped cream, strawberries and raspberries but it actually doesnt need anything. It tastes amazing by itself. I also used up a lot of left over easter eggs which was a double win, they melted just fine with the butter, Thanks for a fab and easy recipe!
So I baked this yesterday, YUMMMMMY, in a 23cm spring form pan as I don’t have a 20cm one and the sides came up higher than the rest of the cake although Nagi, your cake height is the same all round.
When I checked at 45mins, in parts the skewer still had some batter so I left it for an extra 5mins which, I think, was too long so next time I make one it will definitely leave for 45mins exactly.
I used a 50:50 mix of milk and dark couverture as it was all I had and the cake was so very delicious. You’re spot on, it really doesn’t even need cream.
Warmest wishes from sunny Johannesburg, South Africa
NawaalS
This cake is delicious. The taste and texture of a chocolate brownie – yum! I wasn’t sure I was going to like it because when I tried it hot out of the oven it was SO sweet, but it was great once it cooled to room temp 🙂 only issue I had was that it took 20 minutes longer to bake in my oven even though I had it at 160 (fan forced).
Made this today and it was delicious! Not too sweet. Used powdered sugar instead of cocoa for dusting.
Sounds amazing Mt!! N x
Omg!! this cake is soooo good and easy to make. I substituted the sugar for Swerve and it did not disappoint!! I will be making this cake on the regular😋😋
Delicious and easy!
Just wanted to thank you for the beautiful recipe, it was so easy and delicious!
Hi Nagi,
I hope you are staying safe and are well. I’m wanting to make a chocolate cake for my sons 3rd birthday which I can cover in ganache and then fondant (and decorate with Thomas the Tank sugar work). Which of your chocolate cake recipes (eg this flourless choc or your fudge choc etc) would be best to use (I will bake 2 cakes and layer).
Many thanks,
Faith
Hi Nagi, is it better to use almond meal or almond flour? Both are available at my local grocery store and I’m not sure what distinguishes them.
OMG, what a delicious cake! I made for my son’s birthday and everyone loved it. I made 1.5x the recipe in a 22 inch a springform Pan, cooked for an extra 5 minutes and it turned out perfectly.
Can this cake be frozen?
Hi Nagi
Made this cake four times and each time it comes out hard as a brick
Not sure what I’m doing wrong
Hi Jane, sorry you’re having issues here, that doesn’t sound right at all! What type of almond meal are you using? N x
Hi Nagi
I used Priority Health Pty Ltd South Australia – Premium Choice Australian blanched almond meal
http://www.priorityhealth.com.au
Yummmm! Thank you, Nagi! This was delicious! So simple, normal ingredients, no special equipment, and tastes divine. I usually have to cut back the sugar for most desserts, but I took your advice and just made it as per the recipe, and the sweetness is perfect. I did have to bake it longer, but it could be the oven, not sure. I can’t wait to try it with hazelnuts. Thanks again 🙂
Thanks ever so much simple quick and great for Xmas ! Bless
Baked this again today. Decorated with fresh berries on top this time. It was hit! Thanks again Nagi! Took your advice and did not cut back on sugar. Just the right amount of sweetness. 😊
Hi Nagi
I have tried a few of your recipes and all have been a resounding success. This cake did not disappoint and my friends thought it was delicious. Thank you for making your recipes freely available, I have thrown away most of my recipe books as a result.