This Flourless Chocolate Cake is a chocolate lover’s dream ~ a must-have gluten-free dessert for your holiday repertoire. It’s an easy one-bowl beauty with an elegant, truffle-like texture that’s ready for anything, from a pile of fresh berries to a swirl of spiked whipped cream.
I’ve made this flourless chocolate cake more times than I can count, it’s one of the first cakes I learned to bake, and it’s remained a family favorite over the years. That’s partly because it’s so darned simple to make (just a bowl and a whisk!) but also partly due to the intense chocolate flavor and silky mouthfeel when you bite into it. Flourless chocolate cake is just one of those epic taste experiences…everyone goes crazy for it!
THIS FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE IS RICH BUT NOT OVERPOWERING
There are all kinds of flourless chocolate cakes, and some of them are so decadent you can only have one bite before feeling a little ‘sick‘. You know what I mean. This isn’t that. This cake is rich and fudgy, but has a lighter, almost mousse -like texture. You can actually enjoy an entire (small!) slice without feeling overwhelmed.
How to tell when a flourless cake is done
Just like with brownies, the toothpick test will not work with this flourless cake.
The interior is meant to be somewhat gooey. Instead look for a cracked surface that has has lost its shiny ‘uncooked’ look, and signs of slight pulling away along the edges. You can’t really go wrong since this is supposed to be a super moist cake.
Embrace those cracks!
The cake puff up in the oven as it bakes, then sinks down as it cools, and the surface will have gorgeous cracks and crags…don’t worry, that’s part of the charm of a flourless chocolate cake.
a flourless chocolate cake is a blank slate (serving suggestions)
I almost always garnish my flourless chocolate cake with a simple dusting of confectioners sugar. It’s beautiful and allows the cake itself to shine. It also highlights those gorgeous cracks. But this cake can be a blank slate to show off your creativity:
- I think it would be super pretty with a dramatic lace pattern like I did on my Flourless Tangerine Cake. I teach you all about the cake decorating technique here.
- You could top it with fresh fruit like berries or figs.
- Serve each slice with a fruit sauce like rhubarb or cherry.
- Or how about giving it a drizzle of caramel sauce? I like it made with maple or honey.
- And don’t forget about all the different kinds of flavored whipped creams that would be perfect with this cake. ( I vote for bourbon or cranberry!)
Flourless Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free)
Video
Equipment
- 10 inch spring form pan or tart pan with removable bottom
Ingredients
- 9 ounces dark or semi sweet chocolate, Either good quality chocolate chips, or bar chocolate cut in small chunks
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces for easier melting
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons fine almond flour (you can also use all purpose flour)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- powdered sugar for sifting on top
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325F. Lightly butter a 10 inch spring-form or tart pan with removable bottom.
- Put the butter and then the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and stir again. If it's not completely melted, put it back in for another 15 seconds, and stir until the chocolate completely melts. Note: Allow the heat of the bowl to assist in melting everything together, do not over microwave this mixture or it can seize up.
- Add the sugar, extract, and flour to the chocolate, then the eggs, and whisk really well to completely break up the eggs. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. The mixture will thicken as it sits.
- Pour into the buttered pan and smooth out the batter evenly. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until firm on top and cracks form across the surface. Cool on a rack, then remove the outer ring.
- Sift powdered sugar over the top. Serve as is, or with whipped cream and/or fresh berries.
Notes
- Use vanilla in place of the almond extract for a different flavor profile.
- Spice things up with a 1/4 ~ 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper!
- Nut allergies? Use all-purpose flour in place of the almond flour.
Nutrition
more decadent chocolate desserts
- Dark Chocolate Mendiants
- Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Perfect Chocolate Pudding
- Double Dark Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart
- Jewel Box Truffles
Be sure to keep checking it after only 40minutes! Mine was almost burned on top after 44 minutes in 425 oven on middle shelf!
Thanks for the tip Sue!
The recipe says 325°
Hi Sue, I am thinking of making this cake for a presentation on Belgium. Do you know if it is it an authentic Belgian dessert? I look forward to trying it! Thanks!
Gosh, I’m not sure, Steph, I’ve been making this forever, it was one of the first desserts I made on a regular basis, way before I was blogging, and I got it from a magazine. It was called Belgian chocolate cake because it used Belgian chocolate, I think. We’ll have to do some digging on google to find out for sure…
Hi Sue
First, thank you for the recipe!
*Crust: I’m thinking about adding a graham cracker crust of mashed crackers/butter by pressing it to the bottom of my pan, and freezing/cooling it for a couple of hours, rather than baking it before adding the cake mixture.
I don’t really know baking terminology, but hopefully you understand what I’m getting at 🙂
Do you think this would/will work? Do you have any tips?
I think that should be fine Hanna. I just made an icebox cake with a similar crust made with Nabisco Famous Wafers, the dark chocolate ones, and those might make a great crust for this cake too!
Hi there,
Thank-you for the recipe; as well your photography and presentation is really beautiful!
I am wondering, have you ever tried to freeze this cake? Do you think it would do well, or not so well, being frozen and then thawed?
Thanks!
Katie
I haven’t frozen it Kathryn but I would think it should freeze well. The thing would be to let it cool completely and then wrap it really well in double layers to protect it.
Greetings Sue! This recipe is fabulous. I’ve tried it once with the gluten free flour, which was great and the second time I tried moist almonds (soaked over night in water) blended and strained using only the pulp. It was fabulous. Thank you for encouraging us to go for excellence (which your recipe does)!
All the best!
Murphy
Thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback on this Irene ~ I would never have thought to try the almond pulp!
I’m gluten free and made this with almond flour. I served it with raspberries, strawberries and 1 T creme de cassis and 1 T of sugar. A big hit. But now I found out I have immune disease and can’t have dairy. Any suggestions to replace butter?
I can’t be sure because I haven’t tried it, but you might try coconut oil in place of the butter Dee.
I don’t use sugar, can I use the artificial sugar instead?
Yes, I would use a granulated type that you can substitute in the same amount.
I am confused…it says ‘flourless’ but in the ingredients there is either almond flour or all-purpose flour. It looks incredibly delicious, but the ‘flour-thing’ confuses me!
The flourless refers to grain flour, Jeanie, sorry for the confusion. Nut meals are also called ‘flours’, so that’s the confusion. This recipe is gluten free and grain free.
This looks delicious! Do you happen to have any high-altitude conversions for this recipe? I’d love to make it for a group tomorrow night!
Hey Christine ~ I’m afraid I’m not an expert in high altitude conversions, but from what I know, I think this flourless cake would be more adaptable than a more structured cake. Here’s a link to the King Arthur high altitude baking page, https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
You had me at chocolate! 🙂 This looks so incredibly tempting!