Flourless Chocolate Cake
A rich gluten-free chocolate cake with a cracked meringue top and a moist chocolate center. Makes one 9" cake.
Ingredients
- 220 g semi-sweet chocolate (50-60% cocoa)
- 113 g butter (plus more for greasing)
- 5 large eggs
- 15 g cocoa powder, Dutch processed + 1 tsp for greasing
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 175 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- Grease the sides of a 9-inch/23cm springform round cake pan with butter and add in a teaspoon of cocoa powder. Tip the pan to the side and tap it, turning it round and round to cover the greased sides with cocoa powder. Tip the pan upside down and tap it to remove the excess powder. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt together the chocolate and butter. Alternatively, place them in a microwave-proof bowl and microwave them together until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Let it cool slightly.
- Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture and the vanilla, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir it together until combined.
- Add the egg whites to a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on low-medium speed until the egg whites are foamy, then add a tablespoon of sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and keep whisking, adding the sugar in a tablespoon until the egg whites are thick and glossy with stiff peaks.
- Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold it through carefully with a rubber spatula. Continue with the remaining egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Take care not to beat the mix and lose the volume of the egg whites.
- Scoop the mixture into the greased pan and smooth the top with the back of the spatula.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted has a few damp crumbs on it but no wet batter. The cake will still move a bit when you nudge the pan.
- Place the cake in the pan on a cooling rack and leave it to cool completely before removing it from the pan. It will deflate as it cools.
Notes
The cup sizes given are for US cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use grams.
Note: This makes quite a rich cake, with a good hint of bitterness from the dark chocolate. If you prefer a sweeter cake you can swap some of the dark chocolate for milk chocolate which will remove some of the bitterness. Use 50g milk chocolate and 170g dark chocolate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 307kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 119mgSodium: 169mgPotassium: 185mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 428IUCalcium: 32mgIron: 2mg
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