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).
Anushka says
This recipe was absolutely perfect ! I used hazelnut meal and it tasted like a Ferrero Rocher !
Nagi says
OHHH YUM! I must try this Anushka! N x
Caroline says
Wow!!! This cake is amazing. So easy and so satisfying. It’s the perfect cross between a cake and a brownie. Will be making this again soon for sure!
Nagi says
YES! I’m so glad you loved it Caroline! N x
Alla poura says
Can I use my cast iron pan instead of spring form. Do you think I would need to preheat it? Would cooking time be different?
Nagi says
Hi Alla, I haven’t tried to be honest! N x
Heidi says
Made this cake and it didn’t even last a day. could this be made in a rectangle cake tin.
Cyndi Nistal says
Looks great ❣️
What sugar substitutes would you suggest?
Love to see the orange version
Sabine says
I replaced the sugar with 1/3 cup of 100% Maple Syrup and it worked well. Tasty and really easy to make cake! Thanks
teena cruz says
Its a hit!!! we loved it!!! 🙂
Nagi says
That’s great to hear Teena! N x
Sharon says
Just cooked this cake for my husbands birthday. It is a definite winner! Easy to make and beautiful fudgy texture. It will be our new favourite!
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Sharon! N x
Kamini says
Hello Nagi! Thank you for the recipe, it looks great. Do you think I can substitue half of the almond flour for hazelnut flour? (100gm almond, 90gm hazelnut)
I would love to make the fake this weekend, but almond flour was in short supply.
Thanks for your advice!!
Nagi says
Yes definitely Kamini!!! N x
Marha says
Hello Nagi! My mouth exploded with such rich and chocolat-ey goodness. Thank you so much for this recipe. Im jumping this bandwagon instead of the normal chocolate cake. Your recipes are the best! 👍🏼
Nagi says
I’m so glad you loved it Marha!! N x
B says
Love love love this cake! Is it freezable?
Nagi says
Yes 100%! N x
Karen Ellem says
Is there anyway I can make this cake a bit bigger? Like a 22cm cake pan? any help appreciated!!
Mae Lin says
This turned out great both times I made it. Any chance you could share your flourless orange cake recipe? It sounds delicious 😋
Nagi says
YES! Pop a request on my recipe request page and I’ll add it to my list 🙂 N x
Kelly Allen says
I’m keen to try this out. I can’t use cooking chocolate because I need dairy free. Anyway to make eating chocolate work? I generally use 90% dark chocolate.
Trish says
Great recipe, all the family love it, thanks so much
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Trish! ❤️
Helen says
Hi Nagi, looks delicious, as well as easy to make. I’d love to see your Flourless Orange Cake recipe too.
Merry Christmas!
Helen from Arrowtown
Manshuk Karassayeva says
Hi Nagi, i made this cake and it turned out soo good, i did frosting with whipped cream cocoa and little bit of brown sugar. Thank you for recipe
Heather Margaret Bice says
Hi Nagi
I made the Flourless Chocolate cake & it turned out perfect… so I made a 2nd one which I’m going to sandwich together with either whipped cream & rasberries with rasberries dusted lightly with cocoa on top…. or sandwich together with a THIN ganache layer & same berry/cocoa topping.
Probably whipped cream or Mascarpone to serve.
Nagi says
Sounds divine Heather!
Valerie Corey says
Nagi, just love you and Dozer. I see you use Almond meal OR Almond flour…do you prefer one over the other as it seems it would make a big difference in texture?
HEATHER MARGARET BICE says
Hi Nagi
LOVE your page.
Can you tell me if the Flourless Chocolate Cake can be frozen. I’d like to make it about 17/12 so I can cook other Christmas foods.
I’ve learnt so much from your Tips segment. Made the BEST batch of Scones of my life recently…. & I’m nearly 70 yrs old 🤣🤗
Nagi says
Hi Heather, yes it can be frozen! Just thaw in the fridge – you’ll love it!!
Carol says
Dozer is so cute and beautiful.Thank you so much for your delicious recipes and all your tips especially the ham recipe.wishing you and dozer a wonderful Christmas 🎄😛🐶💐🥰🥰🥰
Nagi says
Thanks so much Carol ❤️