This flourless chocolate cake has the rich flavor and delicate consistency of fine chocolate truffles. Made with ground almonds, whipped eggs, rum, espresso and bittersweet chocolate, it's grain free, gluten free and irresistibly delicious!
There's nothing better for a special occasion dessert than an elegant flourless chocolate cake. A thin slice of this rich dark chocolate truffle cake with a garnish of fresh berries or creme fraiche is a deliciously satisfying finale for a great meal.
The Best Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe!
This isn't just any flourless chocolate cake recipe. It comes from Susan Axelrod, the woman behind Love and Quiches, a company that provides cakes and quiches to some of the world's top restaurants and retail stores. When I asked Susan if she would allow me to share one of her recipes on Panning The Globe, she offered her Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Cake recipe, which has been her most popular cake for over 40 years.
How To Make This Flourless Chocolate Cake
If you've ever wondered how to make a flourless chocolate cake, the process is pretty interesting. The cake gets its soufflé-like texture from eggs. Egg yolks are whisked with sugar and rum until creamy and light, and are then combined with melted chocolate, melted butter, ground almonds, salt and coffee. In a separate bowl, egg whites are whisked with cream of tartar until they're stiff, and are then folded in with the egg yolk mixture. The batter is poured into a springform pan and baked for 30 minutes. The super moist flourless chocolate cake requires a couple of hours to chill in the fridge, so it can be easily un-molded from the pan.
Serving suggestions
Sprinkle the cake with confectioner's sugar and slice it into 8 or 10 pieces. It's so rich, a little slice goes a long way. Serve it with whipped cream, creme fraiche, vanilla ice cream or berries.
The Story of Love and Quiches
Susan Axelrod is a family friend. Growing up, I remember my mom telling me that her friend Susan was starting a business, baking quiches in her small family kitchen and peddling them to neighborhood restaurants and gourmet shops. I loved hearing how Susan was making all the deliveries herself, out of the trunk of her Chevy and how, as she got more and more orders for her amazing baked goods, she started employing her kids, friends and neighbors to help crack eggs and roll dough. That was over 40 years ago. Today Susan's company is one of the nation's leading gourmet dessert and quiche manufacturers.
Susan's book, With Love and Quiches
, tells the story of her journey from suburban housewife to seasoned entrepreneur and founder of a multi-million dollar global brand. It's an incredible success story and a really fun read, and includes some of her signature recipes.
A big thank you to Susan for sharing this incredible flourless chocolate truffle cake recipe. It's a spectacular cake that I've served on many special occasions. It always gets raves and requests for the recipe.
More delicious dessert recipes to try:
- Frozen Mocha Cream Pie
- Orange Vanilla Upside Down Cake
- Flourless Almond Cookies from Spain
- Vanilla Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Here's the flourless bittersweet chocolate truffle cake recipe. if you make this cake, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think.
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Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Description
A rich, flavorful, elegant chocolate cake that's flourless and gluten-free. A great Special Occasion cake.
Recipe compliments of Susan Axelrod, from her book Love and Quiches.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces
- 8 tablespoons butter, sweet-unsalted (1 stick) softened
- ¼ cup ground almonds (I used my mini food-processor)
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee or espresso
- 6 eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon rum
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Prepare an 8 or 9-inch springform pan by wrapping the bottom with a double layer of tinfoil, sealing the bottom well. Butter the inside of the pan and line the bottom with buttered parchment paper. Set aside.
- Melt chocolate & 1 stick of butter, using a double boiler or the microwave, being careful not to boil or burn the mixture. For more about melting chocolate here's a great tutorial on how to melt chocolate from Fine Cooking.
- With a rubber spatula, fold almonds, cocoa, salt and coffee into the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Set aside.
- In a separate deep bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and rum until they thicken and ribbon, and are creamy and light in color (about 3 minutes whisking by hand) Then gently fold in the chocolate mixture, being careful not to deflate the egg mixture.
- Meanwhile, with an eggbeater or in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Fold the whites gently into the chocolate mixture, being careful not to deflate the whites. The mixture should remain soufflé-like in texture.
- Gently transfer the batter into the prepared springform pan. Set the pan on a cookie sheet and bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Don't worry if it appears a bit wobbly and undercooked in the center. The cake will continue to cook and firm up as it cools. Once it has cooled to room temperature, tent with foil and refrigerate, still in the pan, for a few hours to aid in the unmolding process.
- About 30 minutes before serving, run a thin knife between the sides of the pan. Carefully unmold and remove parchment paper. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, and serve at room temperature.
- Suggested accompaniments: whipped cream, vanilla or coffee ice cream, Crème fraîche, berries.
Notes
[This post first appeared on Panning The Globe in May 2014. It was updated in June 2020 with new photos, a few tweaks to the written post, and added nutritional information.]
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Paul
Love this cake!! so decadent and rich. Beautiful flavors
Hina
Hi, can this cake be made 3 days in advance? Thank you.
Lisa
I have enjoyed this cake after several days in the fridge. I think you'll be fine to make it 3 days in advance. Keep it chilled and dust it with powdered sugar just before serving.
Hina
Hi, can this cake be made ahead of time?like 2 days in advance? Thank you.
Riana G
IS THIS GLUTEN FREE?!?!!?!! Otherwise sweet recipe! 🙂
Lisa
Hi Riana - yes, it's gluten free! 🙂
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
What a wonderful story. That is a book I would love to read. I am quite interested on how she built her business. So I made a note of it. I also pinned this recipe. OMG I have been looking for the ultimate flourless cake recipe and this has got to be it. This is a recipe from an expert. I am thrilled. I have a special dinner I am preparing in July. One of the women loves sweets and it has to be gluten free. This is THE cake I am making. Thank you----and thank you Susan Axelrod.
Jodee Weiland
Love this flourless chocolate cake! I'm going to be checking out this cookbook...what a great find! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Goldfinger
Thanks Jodee! The book is mostly a business memoir - extremely inspiring for those of us who are trying to build and grow our food blogs. She does include a section on recipes at the back of the book - not a ton of recipes, but some great ones!
dina
i love flourless chocolate cake. it looks great!
Susan Axelod
Lisa,
I loved it, and I admire the way you have built up your website and following. You deserve every success!
I'm also pleased you enjoyed my book.
Regards, Susan