Flourless Chocolate Cake
This flourless chocolate cake with a chocolate cream topping is almost souffle like, intentionally cracking and caving in the middle to create the perfect home for the chocolate cream topping! It’s wonderfully delightful! Leavened only with egg whites, it’s naturally gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, semi-sweet
- ½ cup butter
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder, dutch-processed
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 eggs, 2 whole, 4 separated
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
Chocolate Cream Topping
- 1½ cups whipping cream
- ⅓ cup icing sugar
- 4½ teaspoon cocoa powder, dutch-processed, plus more for dusting the top of the cake
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Grease an 8” springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate and butter. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, using 20 second intervals, stirring between each. Generally, 40 seconds total is sufficient.
- Sift the cocoa powder and espresso powder into the melted chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla. Stir until mixture is smooth.
- In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs with a ¼ cup of the sugar.
- Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolk mixture and gently stir until combined.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until foamy, then gradually add ½ cup of the sugar and beat until firm peaks (the whites are holding their shape, but not too stiff, the tip of the peak curls over itself when the beater is lifted).
- Add a third of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture and stir until combined.
- Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre doesn’t jiggle.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 1 hour. The cake will sink in the middle as it cools. Carefully release the sides of the pan and slide the cake onto a flat serving plate or cake stand.
- To make the chocolate cream, add the whipping cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the cream until soft and then sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff.
- Top the cake with the cream; drop the cream onto the sunken part of the cake and gently spread it out towards the edges of the cake. Lightly dust with cocoa powder.
- Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10.
Notes
Top Tips
- Soft vs. firm vs. stiff peaks? Soft peaks barley hold their shape, firm peaks hold their shape well, but the tip of the peak will curl when the beater is lifted, whereas stiff peaks will stand straight up when the beater is lifted. Overwhipped egg whites will look dull and grainy and overwhipped cream will look grainy and start to separate.
- Only one bowl for your stand mixer? Beat your egg whites first and then transfer to another bowl. Then you can beat your egg yolks in the same bowl without cleaning between uses. If you beat your egg yoks first you have to clean the bowl; always start with a clean bowl for beating egg whites.
- Make it FODMAP friendly: use lactose-free whipping cream for the chocolate cream topping. The amount of lactose in the chocolate chips and butter in the cake should be within acceptable limits per serving size, but of course will depend on personal tolerance.
- The cake is best eaten the day it is made. You can make the cake earlier in the day and store at room temperature, but make the cream topping just before serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 426kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 6gFat: 32gCholesterol: 173mgSodium: 135mgFiber: 2gSugar: 26g
Nutritional information shown is an estimate only.
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