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Home Baking

Flourless Chocolate Cake

By:Nagi
Published:7 Jul '17Updated:8 Nov '21
336 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

A simple Flourless Chocolate Cake made with almond meal / almond flour. Moist inside, with a thin crackly brownie-like surface. A stunning, very quick cake to make! www.recipetineats.com

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.

A simple Flourless Chocolate Cake made with almond meal / almond flour. Moist inside, with a thin crackly brownie-like surface. A stunning, very quick cake to make! www.recipetineats.com

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!

A simple Flourless Chocolate Cake made with almond meal / almond flour. Moist inside, with a thin crackly brownie-like surface. A stunning, very quick cake to make! www.recipetineats.com
A simple Flourless Chocolate Cake made with almond meal / almond flour. Moist inside, with a thin crackly brownie-like surface. A stunning, very quick cake to make! www.recipetineats.com

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

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 55 mins
Sweet
Western
4.95 from 78 votes
Servings10 – 12
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 161
Recipe video above. Typically, flourless chocolate cakes are made by beating egg whites until stiff then folding through the batter. Such cakes rise when baking, but then it sinks once cooled, creating a “crater” on the surface and a slightly denser cake. This recipe made using a touch of baking powder yields are slightly fluffier cake – plus it’s far easier and quicker, and the cake has a fairly level surface. The surface has a thin crackly layer like brownies (GF version here) and the inside is lovely and moist. This cake is also quite forgiving – no need for measuring ingredients to the exact gram.
After this one, try this GF Whole Orange Cake that readers from all over have fallen in love with!

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:

1. If you use small chocolate bits, it’s fine to use a cup to measure. If using a block of chocolate or large chocolate button / melts, weight them. Eating chocolate is not suitable for this recipe – it doesn’t melt smoothly enough. So ensure you use the chocolate sold in the baking aisle.
2. If you use fridge cold eggs, you will notice the batter is thicker. It will still work just fine, but room temperature eggs is better – it makes the batter pourable into the pan. Cake may also need an extra 5 minutes in the oven.
3. This cake is sturdy enough to be used for a layer cake. Double the recipe and cook in separate pans.
4. STORAGE: Keeps for 4 – 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. If it’s very hot where you are, fridge would be best, but always serve at room temperature!
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 12 servings. This is quite rich. 🙂

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 369cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 30g (10%)Protein: 8g (16%)Fat: 26g (40%)Saturated Fat: 13g (81%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 63mg (21%)Sodium: 41mg (2%)Potassium: 205mg (6%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 21g (23%)Vitamin A: 314IU (6%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 126mg (13%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: almond chocolate cake, almond flour chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake, gluten free chocolate cake
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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).

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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336 Comments

  1. Tasker Madeleine says

    April 13, 2023 at 11:10 am

    Hi should the almond flour be tight packed please? I assume white sugar is white sugar not caster sugar? Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Karen G says

    April 10, 2023 at 5:27 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, this flourless chocolate cake is divine and so easy to make. I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon as I love the combination of this warm, fragrant spice with cocoa powder. Happy Easter xo

    Reply
  3. Katy says

    March 31, 2023 at 9:36 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious. I pulled it out at 40 minutes and it was perfect.

    Reply
  4. Anna G says

    March 19, 2023 at 7:32 am

    5 stars
    Made this with my 10 year old for a gluten free friend for our housewarming party, but everyone raved about it.

    Used salted butter, some instant coffee and all the prescribed sugar but light brown. Didn’t get to dust the top with cocoa powder but it was easy, didn’t sink and was a big hit of chocolate.

    Tin, your recipes are keepers. Thank you for making us look good.

    Reply
  5. Patricia Robertson says

    March 18, 2023 at 8:13 am

    can some coffee powder be added to enhance the chocolate flavour?

    Reply
  6. Ana says

    March 12, 2023 at 9:29 am

    4 stars
    This was truly a cinch to make.
    If you like Japanese level sweetness, you can probably cut the sugar by half. I found it a bit overly sweet. Also, I learned that if you use a larger cake pan than the one asked for, it’s important to reduce the baking time. Mine came out a tad hard and dry in the edges.

    Reply
  7. Maria says

    December 8, 2022 at 7:54 pm

    I just started to go gluten free so your chocolate cake recipe comes at the perfect time. By the way I love Dozer, he’s gorgeous

    Reply
  8. Andrew says

    December 1, 2022 at 6:47 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for the recipe.
    I’ve been making my own almond meal and cocoa powder and needed a way to use it.
    This cake is perfect!

    Reply
  9. Sue says

    September 30, 2022 at 3:41 pm

    Love this recipe…
    Flavour is beautiful.
    Worked with Cadbury Old Gold Chocolate.

    Reply
  10. Mulvina Rowe says

    September 13, 2022 at 2:33 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks Nagi, for this great recipe. I have baked it several times now, I substitute the sugar with stevia. So its guilt free too! Chocolatety Delicious.

    Reply
  11. Sue says

    July 18, 2022 at 1:04 pm

    5 stars
    Beautiful….so easy to make…
    Made it as a birthday cake and everyone loved it. Served it with a dollop cream.

    Reply
  12. Geoff says

    July 17, 2022 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    I made this cake a few days ago and it was fantastic. Really quick to make and tasted great with no sinking

    Reply
  13. Carolyn Forster says

    June 10, 2022 at 2:07 pm

    I made this and took it out at 55 minutes. After about 10 minutes it sunk on one side. Just wondering what may have gone wrong. Tastes great, moist and lovely. Just looks average.

    Reply
  14. Liz says

    June 7, 2022 at 1:37 pm

    Hi Nagi, does this cake freeze well?

    Reply
  15. Jessica says

    May 18, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    5 stars
    Came out fantastic and i used the cheap chocolate chips. Really nice heated with icecream.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 18, 2022 at 1:38 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jessica!! N x

      Reply
  16. Sharon says

    March 20, 2022 at 1:53 pm

    180C makes the top all burnt. Even 160C! Like black. Surely it is not my oven. What can I do?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 20, 2022 at 9:50 pm

      Hi Sharon! Are you sure you had the fan element only on and not the top grilling element? And what brand of baking chocolate did you use? N x

      Reply
  17. Yenny says

    March 11, 2022 at 7:22 am

    5 stars
    I love it! Finally a recipe that won’t sink in in the middle. I baked it in the airfryer. 30min on 160 degrees. It came out perfect

    Reply
  18. Jane Bannister says

    February 18, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    I cooked this flourless chocolate cake. The recipe says cook for 45 minutes. I didn’t check it sooner as my oven always takes longer than specified. I used a separate over thermometer to make sure the oven was 180°. Anyway my cake was over cooked – could have used it as a weapon. Next time I’ll check after 35 minutes.

    Reply
  19. ahp says

    February 7, 2022 at 6:15 am

    5 stars
    Outstanding. Used Lily’s Sugar-free Dark Chocolate chips and granulated Erythritol-Monkfruit sweetener instead of white sugar. Fantastic texture and flavor and I love the crunchy top! Definitely making again.

    Reply
  20. Natasha Issac says

    December 27, 2021 at 4:01 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made a few flourless chocolate cakes. But this is the simplest, tastiest I’ve ever had. Made it for Christmas and please had thirds. It is amazing. Thank you

    Reply
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