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).
Conni says
Have you or anyone else turned the Flourless Chocolate Cake into CUPCAKES? I’d like hubby to be able to grab one from the freezer, plop on whipping cream & fruit whenever he likes … he’s the only celiac in the family.
Nagi says
I’m sure you could Conni! Just reduce the cook time to 20 minutes – N x
Carola says
Hi Nagi.!! This cake look amazing. I would like to know if I can use rice flour instead of almond flour. Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Carola, sorry rice flour wont work in this recipe as written – N x
Meg says
Could you make the Flourless Orange Cake and put it on the website? I’d love to try it!
Nagi says
Hi Meg, feel free to pop any requests on my recipe request page, I have list I’m working through 🙂
Vivienne says
So good, I ground my own whole natural almonds, because I didn’t have any ground almonds. Eating it warm now, rich and delish,…and made a second, 3 days later it’s still awesome. Winning recipe!
Nagi says
Sounds amazing Vivienne!
Paulina says
Hi Nagi. This cake tastes delicious, my whole family love it. I will be baking it again for my 2 years old one bd. The only change I made it was using coconut sugar and it was still plenty sweet enough for us.
Thank you for the recipe.
Ps. There was no crater surface 😉
Nagi says
That’s awesome to know Paulina, thanks so much!
Bronwen says
I’ve never made flourless anything in my entire life, but I’ve just made this recipe twice in the past two days for two different occasions and in each case, it was a big hit! So delicious and so easy to make!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love it Bronwen!!
chris Perrin says
Hi Nagi,,
Im catering for my hubby’s birthday and wonder if your flourless chocolate cake freezes ok? Would make it much easier if it does???
Nagi says
Hi Chris, this should freeze fine – N x
MARI says
So… the wedding cake story…?
Gemma says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It’s the perfect consistency – so dense and rich. I made it for my mum’s birthday (she’s coeliac) and topped it with chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries. My partner declared it ‘better than a gluten cake’ which is the highest of praise 😂
Nagi says
Woah that’s great Gemma!!
Howard says
It was amazing! The whole family loved it! And so easy. Thank you
Nagi says
That’s great to hear Howard!
Linda says
Hi Nagi, another question, do you think I could add chopped walnuts to this? Would I need to add more liquid?
Nagi says
Hi Linda, walnuts would be great, just fold through at the end!
Linda says
Hi Nagi, this is a fantastic cake! Crusty edge and super fugey in the inside, kind of like a brownie, but lighter. So I want to make 1.5 x the recipe as have some guests over, but that gives me 4.5 eggs. Assume rounding up to 5 is okay? Also, I’ll use a 9 inch pan. Do I just need to bake a little longer and test using toothpick? Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Linda, yes use 5 eggs, you’ll need to cook longer so just keep an eye on it – N x
Yoona says
I’ve baked flourless choc cake using different recipe that involved creaming butter/sugar sugar and whipping meringue. Your recipe is simpler, faster and with significantly less washing. I don’t even have to take out my mixer! The results from both recipes are very similar (a tad difference in texture). Yours is a definite winner!
Nagi says
You’re converted Yoona!! – N x
Ross Tatam says
This is the very best cake of its kind! Unbelievably easy! I made it for my brother’s birthday and he thought that I had purchased it from an expensive patisserie! I have baked it in a normal oven and a Weber Q kettle with equal success.
Nagi says
Woah that’s great Ross!
Mia says
Hi Nagi, can we replace the sugar with stevia or xylitol to make it sugar-free. Would it change the taste or consistency? Thanks.
Rhonda Roberts says
Use Truvia…it’s used 1 to 1, same as sugar, in any recipe and tastes great!
Nagi says
Hi Mia, it would definitely change the texture & taste, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t give you accurate feedback on whether it would work – N x
Anna B says
I’m so excited I found your recipe Nagi, it is so easy to make and just divine! I’ve made it twice already! Thanks for sharing!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love it Anna, thanks for letting me know!
Julia says
Delicious! The crumb of the cake is very luxurious.
I baked cakes over the Wednesday and Thursday and stored some in foil and clingwrap because I didn’t have enough airtight containers and they were still moist on the Saturday. I stacked two cakes, using dark chocolate ganache in the middle and the sides. Worked wonderfully. Thank you!
Nagi says
Sounds like you nailed it Julia!
Lillie says
Hi Nagi!! I’m so excited to try this. Can I sub the butter for oil? My family is dairy free/ gluten free
Nagi says
Hi Lillie, I haven’t tried to be honest!
Li says
I looked at a lot of recipes and liked the simplicity of making this. I made it 4 days ago w a slog of rum and shot expresso and it was nice but I knew from the batter it wasn’t great. This time I added a good pinch of salt flakes, aged port, 2 shots expresso and caramel latte powder which lifted flavour substantially.
Tip. I put a circle of baking paper a bit bigger than my tin on the bottom snap on the sides, spray w non stick oil, dust w cocoa. Let cool and transport in pan (run knife around the edge after 10 mins out of oven ) then paper peels off perfectly.
I didn’t love strawberries & normal whipped cream with this suggest chantilly or quenelles of 35% w raspberries
Meredith says
Hi Nagi. Making this now in 20 cm lined cake tin as didn’t have correct sized springform pan. Not sure how long to cool it in the tin before removing, as no sides to remove etc. Thank you