Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Cake

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.

Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Cake

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Lisa
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
• Yield: 8-10 1x

Print Recipe

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.

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Ingredients

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• 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

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Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. With a rubber spatula, fold almonds, cocoa, salt and coffee into the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Set aside.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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

Keywords: gluten free chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake