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
A rich and fudgy chocolate cake made for two. Super easy and quick to make!
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
- Preheat an oven to 425°F. Grease a ceramic soup bowl or other small oven-safe round container.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 323
I can be a total perfectionist as well and super hard on myself. I love Ashley’s quote! So true! As for this chocolate cake it looks fantastic! Love that it is super fudgey!
Thank you, Kelley! I think all of us food bloggers are major perfectionists lol! It’s probably a food blogger requirement hehe 🙂
I couldn’t agree more Beeta, us bloggers can get really hard on ourselves and compare ourselves to others, but as i always remind myself – "comparison is the thief of joy" – ain’t that quote great?!
and i love the quote you heard as well "If you’re not terrified of what you’re doing, you’re not doing the right thing." – just wrote that down to remember it! 😛
as for the chocolate cake- it sounds like the perfect combination of moistness, fudgey and chocolatey, with of course a scoop of ice-cream :p
hope you had a lovely weekend!
Bec {Daisy and the Fox}
xx
That is SUCH a great job, Bec! I don’t know why I find myself ever comparing my work when I’ve held so steadfast to the non-comparison rule in other aspects of my life. When it comes to my food blogging, there’s just so many people that inspire me, I guess, that I get caught up in it all and sometimes forget my own progress. Thanks so much for your sweet words and for that wonderful quote – I really appreciate it, Bec! <3
Umm yeah, I love listening to podcasts, and I follow a few on blogging as well. I believe I heard the one you’re referencing to. And I agree, I do tend to get into criticizing my work and frustrated with myself more times than I can count. But luckily, they’re short lived and I do get over them! 🙂
Well, this cake looks delicious though! And I love the small portions!
Thank you, Shinee! It’s always great when we’re able to snap out of it and truly appreciate where we’re at in the artistic process of it all. And the small portions are definitely needed with a rich dessert like this! 🙂
Thank you so much Beeta for this post! I keep putting off listening to blogging podcasts but I’m going to start now. And this recipe is killer!!! We are grilling steaks tonight with friends and I’m making this for dessert. Love the idea of baking each one in individual serving bowls too, so much easier than a springform pan. Hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙂 xoxo
Thank you, Karrie! Some of the food blogging podcasts are so great and such a wonderful resource. I hope you enjoyed the cake if you ended up making it. It’s definitely way easier to make when you can just scoop the cake straight out of your own bowl. Thanks for your kind words, deary <3
Fantastic job with this dessert, Beeta! With or sans the flour I would be inclined to scoop out some soft vanilla ice cream, as a crown to this beauty. Please, don’t judge me. Love your stuff, this one would look fantastic on our kitchen table!
Thank you so much! Some vanilla ice cream is definitely necessary if you ask me! 😉 XO
Oh I listened to that podcast too! It’s so encouraging isn’t it, to realise your not the only one who feels that way. Such a good reminder to push through. I definitely experience the ups and downs of blogging, some days are so hard and I wonder why I bother and other days I feel like I could do it forever. Your blog is gorgeous Beeta! Your photos, your pastries, your writing. Keep going because you inspire us! And I want to visit France more than ever! 😉
It’s so comforting to know we’re not alone in feeling this way, Jess! I feel the same way with the ups and downs. Thank you so much for supporting my blog and always leaving such kind words. I so appreciate your encouragement, and I just want to say that I absolutely love your blog and decadent desserts too, so keep up the amazing work! XO
Ahh, I always feel like I learn something new about French patisserie every time I come here! <3
I had a fair bit typed out in response to your first paragraph but I realised what I was trying to say, surrounded by a lot of fluff, was how much I relate to that feeling. And even reading that today has made me feel more positive about blogging. Blogging can be such a mental rollercoaster sometimes!
Aww, thank you Hannah! I love that you’re learning new things about French food when you visit here – that makes me feel so good! I’m also so glad that the post had a positive effect on you. We’re all in this together, and I love that I have wonderful blogging friends like you to raise my arms up with on the rollercoaster! 😉
I’ve never listened to podcasts by foodbloggers – interesting. This looks gorgeous – this is my favorite romantic dish
There’s an art quote I once heard – You’re always going to feel inadequate as an artist. Once you stop feeling you have have to improve your art, you stop growing. Too true, alas
Thank you, Natalie! Food blogger podcasts are really interesting, you should give one a listen! And I absolutely love that quote – it’s so spot on. Thank you so much for sharing <3