Recipes,  Something Sweet

Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake

My fiancé and I invited our families over for dinner last weekend, so I decided to bake one of my favorite desserts, a Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake. Many die-hard chocolate-lovers out there are familiar with this fudgy type of cake baked with only chocolate, eggs, sugar, and butter, and not a trace of flour. The combination results in a souffle-like cake, with a moist inside and flaky cracked top. As with many desserts, the quality of ingredients you choose to put into this recipe is crucial to getting the result you want. In this case, the most important ingredient is the chocolate, so I used none other than Callebaut chocolate – a favorite of professional bakers around the world. It’s imported from Switzerland and of the finest quality. You can find this special type of chocolate at Whole Foods or search for other stores near you on their website

It’s the perfect end to and elegant meal and, although it tastes like you bought it from a french bakery, it is surprisingly easy enough for everyone to make at home. Once baked, dust with powdered sugar and serve with freshly whipped cream.

Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake

Recipe Adapted from Tyler Florence

Ingredients
1 pound high-quality dark or bittersweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut), chopped into small pieces
1 stick unsalted butter
9 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, cold, for topping
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of the pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color.

Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs – this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate – then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.

Fold beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

 

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

While the cake is cooking, whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.

Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners’ sugar and topped with whipped cream.

 

Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
 
A recipe for fudgy Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
  • 1 pound high-quality dark or bittersweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut), chopped into small pieces
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 9 large eggs, separated
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups heavy cream, cold, for topping
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of the pan.
  2. Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted.
  3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color.
  4. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs – this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate – then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.
  5. Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.
  6. Fold beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
  7. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes.
  8. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.
  9. While the cake is cooking, whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.
  10. Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners’ sugar and topped with whipped cream.

 

6 Comments

  • Lynn

    How much does one stick of butter weight? The recepe says one stick but I do don’t know how big a stick to buy.
    Thank you.

    • Janelle

      Hi Lynn! A stick of butter weighs 1/4 pound and is 8 tablespoons. I hope this helps! Let me know how it comes out! 🙂

  • Janelle

    Hi Chanel, thank you for reading and so sorry for the delayed response! I have never tried using fondant over the cake – it is the kind of cake that dips in the middle so since it is not a totally flat cake, I would imagine it would be difficult to get the fondant over it evenly. Perhaps a traditional chocolate cake with ganache filling would work better, while still keeping the deep chocolate taste! 🙂 x Janelle

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