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).
Alana Bandos says
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.
Kate says
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.
Gemma says
Can this cake be frozen?
Jane says
Hi Nagi
Made this cake four times and each time it comes out hard as a brick
Not sure what I’m doing wrong
Nagi says
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
Jane says
Hi Nagi
I used Priority Health Pty Ltd South Australia – Premium Choice Australian blanched almond meal
http://www.priorityhealth.com.au
Sabrina says
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 🙂
Wendy says
Thanks ever so much simple quick and great for Xmas ! Bless
Kim Lonergan says
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. 😊
Heather says
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.
Noelene says
Nagi do you think this would work in a Bhunt tin. I’m thinking Christmas dessert with berries in the center
Nagi says
Hi Noelene, it’s a very dense cake that I don’t think will hold up to a bundt tin sorry! N x
Noelene says
Thankyou for your reply
Jacqui says
Hi Nagi. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Can I substitute almond meal to hazelnut mea,l by any chance? Thanks for your help!
Nagi says
YES! It will be delicious Jacqui!! N x
Jane says
Made this many times…fabulous cake thank you for the recipe
Just wondering if I could add to the melted butt and chocolate some (coffee) eg 1 tsp instant coffee diluted in 2 tablespoons of hot water
Peter Meyer says
Oops, meant to say “my wife is trying a Gluten Free diet”
Peter Meyer says
Hi Nagi, I’m planning on making this for Thanksgiving (US) dinner. My is trying a Gluten Free diet and this looks like a great addition to my repitoire.
Your seasoned buttered rice and Mediterranean Chick pea salad are already staples here.
Nagi says
I hope you love it Peter!! N x
Peter Meyer says
Oops, meant to say “my wife is trying a Gluten Free diet”
Heidi says
Making this for a birthday and its great! Thanks so much for the recipe. (I’m relieved to find a flourless cake that doesn’t collapse when cooling, lol)
Kim Lonergan says
Another successful bake! Baked this cake this morning for a girls catch up this afternoon. There’s none left! It was so good, we had two slices each. 😋 The only thing I changed was to reduce the amount of sugar to 150gm. I may reduce it a little further the next time. Thank you Nagi for such easy and delicious recipes.
Nagi says
Hi Kim – thanks so much for the great feedback! Just be careful as reducing the sugar will affect the cook/texture. N x
Sam says
I made this and it turned really dense and hard… what did I do wrong? Also when putting into pan it did not “pour”. Any thoughts?
Nagi says
Hi Sam – that doesn’t sound right at all! Did you measure the ingredients correctly? N x
olivia says
Hi Nagi, followed your recipe to the tee except for substituting with palm sugar. Was dryish and a day after, dense and hard. What may have gone wrong?
MaryJo says
This is so, so, so goooood! And easy, too! Thank you for sharing.
Stephanie says
Baking as I write this… kitchen smells delicious! I’ve tried your recipes before and have loved them. Thanks for your passion and sharing x x
Nagi says
Thanks so much Stephanie!! N x
Julian says
Will this bake fine in one pan if I double the recipe? So I can slice it for layering as I only have one pan
Nagi says
Hi Julian, no it won’t sorry – it’s too heavy. You’d really need to cook two separately. N x
Julie says
We made this, substituting swerve for sugar. Delicious!! Easy to make, and an excellent treat for those with diabetes. Thank you!!