Flourless Chocolate Cake

This flourless chocolate cake is the cure for all, and is especially perfect for sharing the love when it’s just you and a special someone. While it’s a perfect dessert for a romantic evening or intimate gathering, I’ve been known to make this cake when I’m feeling down or in need of some cheering up.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Chocolate always leads to good things, right? I’ve made this flourless chocolate cake several times because there’s nothing like decadent, chocolate-y goodness to inspire you that all is well in the world. 

This flourless chocolate cake is truly a chocolate lover’s delight. I may have lied a tinsy bit, though, by calling this cake flourless. This cake does have flour, but if you blink, you could miss the added ingredient because the amount is so very miniscule.

You can also sub out the flour for almond meal to make this a truly flourless chocolate cake if you want. 

In a full size version of this cake, you’d add only 1 tablespoon of flour. In this petit gateau (small cake), there’s just a teaspoon of flour. The flour here is used similar to the way you’d add flour to a sauce or broth, as a slight thickening agent.

Otherwise, the French prefer the chocolate to truly shine in this cake, which it so beautifully does. 

If you remember my post discussing French brownies, you might recall me discussing the inability of the French to make chocolate baked goods that are tender, yet firm like classic American chocolate cakes. When they attempt this, the result is often very dry cakes.

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that they just don’t make a lot of baked goods with that texture. Most of their cakes are tortes, cakes made with nuts rather than flour, or are spongy in texture.

 

They excel at these type of flourless cakes and feel that a thin slice of rich flourless chocolate cake, for example, is better than a large wedge of American-style chocolate cake.

I honestly can’t say I prefer one over the other because as much as I adore French baked goods, I’ve grown up on bakery yellow cakes and birthday chocolate cakes. I’ve grown accustomed to their taste and texture.

I will say that both types of cakes have their positives, and one of my favorite aspects of this flourless chocolate cake is how incredibly moist and luxurious each bite feels. 

The cake tastes like French mousse, unmistakably chocolate-y and indulgent. It’s texture, however, is more fudge-y than wet, making it seem like an extremely velvety brownie. 

I love making small versions of this flourless chocolate cake in my [easyazon_link identifier=”B01K1RVZA0″ locale=”US” tag=”monpetitfour-20″]crock soup bowls[/easyazon_link] because they come out the perfect size for sharing with a friend or special somebody.

I’ll usually add a scoop of whipped cream or ice cream to the top as a cool contrast to the warm cake. This is of course optional, but the cake is so velvety and rich, you will probably need something to wash it down, even if it’s just a cup of coffee.

But who’s going to pick coffee over ice cream? Not me. No siree! All I need is a spoon and then I’m ready to dig into this cake and enjoy it in all its glory. 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Yield: 2

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A rich and fudgy chocolate cake made for two. Super easy and quick to make!

Print

Ingredients

• 2 oz dark chocolate
• 2 oz milk chocolate
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• tiny pinch of salt
• 1 egg, yolk and white separated
• powdered sugar to dust on top, optional
• ice cream or whipped cream for serving, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 425°F. Grease a ceramic soup bowl or other small oven-safe round container.
2. Set a heat-resistant medium bowl over a small saucepan filled with simmering water. Add the chocolate to the medium bowl, and allow it to melt over low heat, making sure the medium bowl does not come in direct contact with the water simmering below. Once the chocolate is almost melted, remove and stir the chocolate until it’s completely melted and smooth.
3. Add the butter to the melted chocolate and stir until the butter has melted and been combined. Add the egg yolk in, followed by the flour, sugar, and small pink of salt. Stir to combine.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. If you want, you can add a tiny pinch of sugar or sprinkle of cream of tartar to help the process. Gently fold the egg white into the batter until it’s completely incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into your greased bowl and bake for about 15 to 16 minutes, until the top of the cake looks set and somewhat cracked. Turn off the oven, leave the door open slightly ajar, and let the cake rest inside the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar and add a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream.

Notes

If you’d like to make a standard 10 inch cake, use 1 lb chocolate (equally divided between dark and milk), 10 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, and 4 eggs.
For a truly flourless version, sub almond meal/flour for the all-purpose flour.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 2 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 323

SaveSave