Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe (With Video)

Prep Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Servings:

8

Who can resist flourless chocolate cake? Made with just four ingredients—unsalted butter, bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, eggs, and granulated sugar—this dessert is not to be missed. It’s rich and chocolaty, but also light—not dense like many flourless cakes. Being flourless also means it’s perfect for Passover or those who eat gluten-free, but most of all, it’s sure to delight any chocolate lover. Whether you make it for a birthday or to enjoy as a dessert on Valentine's Day, this flourless chocolate cake is guaranteed to be a sweet way to end any meal.

What Is Flourless Chocolate Cake?

As its name suggests, a flourless chocolate cake does not contain flour and is chocolate-flavored. Beyond that, variations are possible: some flourless chocolate cakes are made with ground nuts, often walnuts or almonds, similar to Austrian tortes; others are simply made with butter, chocolate, eggs, and sugar.

Our flourless chocolate cake is a little different: it does not contain nuts, and the eggs are used separately—the yolks added to the melted butter and chocolate mixture. The whites are whipped like meringue and gently folded into the chocolate mixture. The whipped egg whites give this flourless chocolate cake a light-as-air texture, quite different from the many dense ones.

Why Ingredients Are Important

This flourless chocolate cake has a short ingredient list, and each one is essential. Because there are so few ingredients, it’s important to use good-quality ingredients, especially when it comes to the chocolate.

The Chocolate

This cake can be made with either bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, but the chocolate should be of good quality. Do not use cheap chocolate or baking chocolate for this recipe because it will not taste as good.

Similarly, do not use chocolate chips because they have added stabilizers to make sure they keep their shape in baking; that is not what is needed for a flourless chocolate cake.

Directions

Ingredients for chocolate flourless cake — Jason Donnelly

Preheat oven, prep pan; melt butter and chocolate:

Preheat the oven to 275°F with the rack in the center. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly.

Jason Donnelly
Add egg yolks:

Whisk in egg yolks.

Jason Donnelly
Beat egg whites:

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

Jason Donnelly
Add granulated sugar:

Gradually add granulated sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form.

Jason Donnelly
Add whipped egg whites:

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then gently fold in remaining egg whites.

Jason Donnelly
Transfer batter to pan:

Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes.

Jason Donnelly
Cool:

Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan.

Jason Donnelly
Serve:

Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Jason Donnelly

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a flourless chocolate cake different to a molten chocolate cake?

Both flourless chocolate cake and molten chocolate cakes are dense, delicious chocolate desserts, but how they are made is quite different. They contain similar ingredients, but the proportions of the ingredients are different, with flourless chocolate cake having fewer ingredients, but usually more eggs. Generally, molten chocolate cakes are individual desserts that are cakey on the outside with a center of flowing warm dark chocolate, and they are served warm. Flourless chocolate cake is usually made as one large dessert with a rich, fudgy texture throughout, plus it is served at room temperature.
How do you get flourless cake out of the pan?

To get a flourless cake out of the pan, we recommend you make this dessert using a springform pan. It’s two-part design means the sides can be opened and removed then the cake lifted off the bottom. If you don't have a springform pan, preparing the pan well, letting the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan, and using a thin, flexible knife around the edges will help to separate the cake from the pan.
Why did my flourless cake not rise?

A flourless cake generally does not rise as high as a regular cake made with flour, leaveners, and eggs. It will rise a little during baking, then sink a little when it comes out of the oven. It is not supposed to rise more than that.