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This Flourless Chocolate Cake is sensational! Decadent, dense, and moist with an eye-opening chocolate flavor, complete with an exquisite crust that forms on top.
Look no further for the perfect romantic dessert! This silky cake has all the features of a perfectly baked fudgy brownie, with none of the flour. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or homemade whipped cream, and a drizzle of raspberry sauce, blueberry sauce or hot fudge. One small slice and you’ll be in a chocoholic’s paradise!
Bookmark this cake, Red Velvet White Chocolate Cupcakes, chocolate raspberry cake, and White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse as perfect choices for a Valentine’s Day dessert, dinner party, or special occasion!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this flourless chocolate cake recipe:
- Heavy cream makes it extra rich. We gently bring heavy cream and sugar to a boil, and that makes a creamy and moist chocolate cake base.
- Next level chocolate decadence. Semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate’s natural chocolate power is further enhanced by butter and a touch of salt to achieve chocolate perfection.
- Gluten-free recipe by a professional chef. Not only is this recipe entirely gluten free, it has been tested and re-tested in a professional kitchen to make sure you’re served every bit of decadent flavor.
Professional Tips
- Whip your eggs to at least double volume. Whipping your eggs to double, or even triple volume, is what creates the light, delicate texture of this cake.
- Use a water bath for perfect consistency. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and then nestle that pan in a larger pan. Surround your cake pan with boiling water, and you’ve made a water bath which will evenly bake the cake and allow for a beautiful crunchy top. I would discourage using a spring-form pan because water could seep in.
- Allow the cake to cool and then refrigerate. Putting the cake in the refrigerator after cooling not only enhances its texture but will help it to release from the pan onto the serving plate. If you need to, you can even use a torch or hot water to help coax the cake out.
Is flourless chocolate cake gluten-free?
Flourless chocolate cake is 100% gluten free. To be extra safe, double check that the chocolates you purchase do not have any gluten cross-contamination in their packaging!
What is flourless chocolate cake made of?
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: For this cake I recommend Ghiradelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. They are just sweet enough without touching on cloying and a high quality texture. If you cannot find those, go for the ones with the least additives at your grocery store! Sometimes the additives can affect taste and mouthfeel.
- Unsweetened Chocolate: Using unsweetened chocolate such as Baker’s chocolate allows you to control the sugar in the recipe. It has more cocoa solids (100%) than semi-sweet, which contributes to the texture and flavor.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream adds just enough liquid to make a silky cake. It also comes with fat to add to the flavor and texture. You can substitute it with water, but the results will be less silky.
- Eggs: The eggs are here to add fat, moisture and leavening. The fat from the egg yolks adds richness and helps keep the cake moist. Eggs emulsify the batter and keep everything texturally perfect.
- Kosher salt
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Extract: Add up to 1 tablespoon max of vanilla extract or an extract of your choosing to add a twist on the chocolate flavor. Chocolate + orange are a beautiful pairing, such as in my Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies!
- Espresso powder: The secret ingredient in my Easy Chocolate Pie, just a ¼ teaspoon of espresso powder, would go a long way to adding a small boost to the chocolate flavor.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder: This particular recipe has no easy substitution to include cocoa powder, but my Flourless Chocolate Torte will be a better way to go!
How to Make Flourless Chocolate Cake
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Preheat the oven 350°F. Butter a 10-inch round cake pan or two 5-inch small round pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
Step 2: Chop unsweetened chocolate very finely and place in a large heatproof bowl with the chocolate chips.
Step 3: In a small saucepan, heat cream and ¾ cups sugar over medium heat until it reaches a gentle boil, and the sugar has a chance to dissolve. Stir frequently. Add butter and salt, and stir until completely melted.
If you have the patience, you can actually wait to add your butter after Step 4 instead. Watch it melt into your warmed chocolate! It does elevate the cake’s richness to do it this way, but only ever so slightly.
Step 4: Pour hot mixture over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. You want the mixture to be smooth and glossy.
Step 5: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until doubled in volume. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar while you continue to beat.
You can continue to beat all the way until the eggs are thicker and a very pale yellow (tripled in volume), but this also causes your cake to rise a lot more and it will fall as it cools. Your call!
Step 6: Fold eggs into chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula. Be persistent. It’ll turn out great! Put cake batter into the pan.
Step 7: Place the cake pan in a roasting pan, and fill the roasting pan halfway with boiling water. Bake for 45 to 90 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with some crumbs and a little chocolate smear.
If you use small 5” pans it might take less time to bake. Continue to keep an eye on it and test for doneness!
Step 8: Let cool completely in its cake pan. Enjoy with some fresh berries (I love this with fresh raspberries)!
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
I would recommend that you refrigerate your cake after it is cooled for 30 minutes. Run an offset spatula around the edges and then invert it onto a wire rack and then a plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store baked cake well-wrapped in plastic wrap or an air-tight container. This cake will keep 3 days at room temperature, a week in the refrigerator or 2 months frozen. Thaw uncovered in the fridge.
It’s important to beat the eggs to at least double their volume, or they will not be able to provide enough structure and leavening for the cake. However, if you over-beat your eggs you may find a pocket of air forms between your top crust and the cake which will sink. Be careful not to over-work the batter. Be persistent when folding in your ingredients but do it gradually and gently. Allow your cake to cool gradually by cooling in its pan until it is not warm to the touch. If you rush the cooling process your cake might collapse.
Flourless cakes often have less carbs than typical cakes made with flour. But, they still do have carbohydrates! The carbs of this cake are located in the sugars.
Serve simply with a scoop of lightly sweetened homemade whipped cream, lemon curd whipped cream or a spoonful of crème anglaise. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is alway welcome as is my easy blueberry sauce! You could lean into the chocolate with this chocolate ice cream recipe and homemade hot fudge!
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips Ghirardelli
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares Such as Bakers
- 1½ cups unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 12 tablespoons granulated sugar ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream or water
- 7 eggs room temperature
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350°F. Butter a 10-inch round cake pan or two 5-inch small round pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
- Chop unsweetened chocolate very finely and place in a large heatproof bowl with the chocolate chips.
- In a small saucepan, heat cream and ¾ cups sugar over medium heat until it reaches a gentle boil, and the sugar has a chance to dissolve. Stir frequently. Add butter and salt, and stir until completely melted.
- Pour hot mixture over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. You want the mixture to be smooth and glossy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until doubled in volume. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar while you continue to beat.
- Fold eggs into chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula. Be persistent. It’ll turn out great! Put cake batter into the pan.
- Place the cake pan in a roasting pan, and fill the roasting pan halfway with boiling water. Bake for 45 to 90 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with some crumbs and a little chocolate smear.
- Let cool completely in its cake pan. Enjoy with some fresh berries (I love this with fresh raspberries)!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cake recipes, such as this one-bowl beauty, my easy moist chocolate cake!
Hi. I printed your recipe to try. Super excited but the sugar measurement in the recipe doesn’t match the instructions. Is it 1 3/4 + 2 T or 3/4 + 2T????
Thank you for clarifying.
Susan
Hi Susan! Thank you for gently inquiring! I’ve updated the recipe to save future confusion, it’s 3/4 cups plus 2T. Happy baking, this one is very special!
I am a HUGE fan of flourless cakes especially the ones using chocolate. The texture is amazing. Your’s looks so delicious and the recipe is too tempting not to attempt!
Oh you have to try it!!! It’s ridiculously good!
Hehe I mentioned you and the flourless chocolate cake in my last post. I am doing a Ghirardelli gift card giveaway. And it also kind of reminded me of you since you’ve mentioned you loved Ghirardelli and seem to use it a lot in your chocolate based recipes. I did a one year mark post too soon, but my actual one year blogiversary is around the corner. To commemorate, I am raffling off a gift card. It’s my first giveaway so, it’s kind of exciting.
Thanks, Kim!!! Mmmm I do love me some Ghirardelli! I’ll have to run right over there and get in on the action! Congrats on your first giveaway!
With both your and Kayle’s endorsement, I know this is a winner! And my family would be thrilled with it!!!
These will be a HUGE hit with the chocolate lovers in your family!!!
Oh my fav kind of chocolate cake is the flourless kind! So yum!! I just love the decadence and chocolatyness of it. Who needs flour in their cakes anyways? I haven’t had flourless chocolate cake in a while, but now you got me craving some. I haven’t tried making it with cream or water in it though. lol In addition to raspberry sauce and whipped cream, I love crème anglaise with it. I personally prefer the cake cold.
I wonder why you struggled to get the cake out? Insufficient spraying? Have you ever tried making the (sprayed) parchment paper slightly longer and overlapping to use as a handle to ease the taking out process? I usually spray the crap out of my baked goods because I’ve had nightmare experiences in the past with struggling to take it out. Never again.
After a flourless chocolate cake it is super hard to go back to the regular floured variety! Nothing could possibly stand up!
I buttered my pan and then buttered my parchment circle. I don’t know what the deal was. I’ve never had a problem quite like that – my husband actually turned the pan upsidedown and then banged it as hard as he could until the cake fell out. It lend itself to the best presentation but after the first bite, it hardly mattered!! I don’t use cooking spray {gasp!} because it creeps my out. All butter around here… I have used longer pieces of parchment in square or rectangular baking dishes but never thought to use the same trick with a circle! I’ll have to give it a go! Thanks!
I adore flourless chocolate cakes, it is by far one of my fav desserts. I love the richness and fudginess of it. Yours looks utterly delicious!
Thank you! It was soooooo so good. The richest, fudgiest one I’ve had.
Awwww YAYYY! I’m sooo glad you liked it! It really does feel like that doesn’t it? Like your life was incomplete until this cake came into your life. *sigh of happiness* mmmmm I miss it!!
I LOVED it! I’m super disappointed its all gone! I don’t know what I’ll do in restaurants because now the bar has been set so high! 🙂
exactly why I rarely order desserts 😛
Oh I don’t have that kind of will-power! Thanks for the Tweet! [Can I say that? One of these days I am just going to suck it up and figure it out!]
Lol you can do whatever you want! And no prob 🙂 Tech. I shared it on fb and then it automatically tweets everything I post to my fb page 😀
Secret’s out! Thanks all the same!!! Sigh I could use a slice right now…