Flourless Chocolate Cake
Whew!! We made it to Friday, friends! If you follow along on Instagram, you already know yesterday was a weird day for me. I found an image of our basement in a large, reputable magazine that didn’t credit my work (which gave me all the feels). Between that and having a gray, snow day- I found myself in the kitchen. That’s my happy place! If I’m feeling bummed or off, baking usually puts a smile on my face. I cranked up the music, turned to my coveted Mast Brothers Chocolate Cookbook that permanently lives on the countertop, and whipped up the most delicious flourless chocolate cake. If you’re also in need of some fun in the kitchen (or maybe you’re planning to indulge in a Valentine’s day dessert), this is the perfect recipe! Click through for the details…
Since this cake is flourless- it’s obviously gluten free. It’s dense, super rich, creamy, and delectable… especially served with a cold scoop of gelato on top.
As I mentioned in the intro, this recipe is from the Mast Brothers Cookbook, but I adapted it slightly. This is my first time making this particular recipe, but I’ve made many others from the book and they’re all amazing! I’d highly recommend if you have a sweet tooth (I certainly do).
Flourless Chocolate Cake (adapted from the Mast Brothers Cookbook)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 8 eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (+ 2 tablespoons for the egg whites)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Butter a 8-10" round cake or pie pan.
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a double broiler, or the microwave on the melt setting- stirring often and making sure the chocolate doesn't burn.
- Separate the eggs, pouring the yolks into a medium bowl and the whites into another medium mixing bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar to the egg yolks and beat until fluffy and light in color.
- Add the melted chocolate to the yolk / sugar mixture, and beat until smooth.
- Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to the egg whites and whip to form soft peaks.
- Fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes. The original cookbook recipe suggests baking for 25 minutes (so I'd recommend setting a timer and checking the cake often). My cake took much longer to bake throughout. Altitude might've had something to do with that, but you want to make sure the cake is set and not jiggly in the center.
- Sift the powdered sugar over the cooled cake and serve with whipped cream, gelato, or your favorite ice cream!
This cake isn’t like a traditional cake- it’s more like a chocolate cake meets a brownie, in the best way possible. It comes out of the oven with crunchy top layer and dense, gooey center. Like a molten cake meets a French macaron? Basically my two favorite things. Ha! The combination of textures is my favorite thing about this recipe.
Don’t worry about the cracks when you pull it out of the oven- that’s all apart of the charm of this flourless beauty. You’re going to dust it with confectioners sugar anyway!
You can go as heavy or as light as you’d like with the powdered sugar. I tend to go crazy- so mine is on the heavy side. Maybe I was just inspired by the snow outside my kitchen window? Sure… we’ll go with that!
The next time I make this recipe (there will DEFINITELY be a next time, BTW!), I’m going to try it in ramekins and make mini flourless cakes rather than one big one. I think that presentation would be so nice for a dinner party or romantic dinner… individual mini cakes with a scoop of ice cream on top.
I’d rate this recipe a 5 out of 5. I’m serious when I say- the Mast Brothers book hasn’t failed me yet. Emmett came home from work yesterday right as I was trying the first bite and he immediately stole my plate (eye roll). He said this is one of the best, rich desserts I’ve made (and that’s saying something because I bake a lot).
It definitely did the trick in cheering me up and getting me away from my computer, phone, and social media for a bit. Do you ever retreat to your kitchen to get away or escape reality momentarily? Let me know if you guys try this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think.
This weekend we’re hoping to be tiling the basement bathroom, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty to share on IG stories behind-the-scenes. The bathroom is finally starting to take shape and I’m very excited about this room! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you back here on Monday? Oh yeah… I also wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the love and support yesterday. In addition to baking, you guys sure know how to put a big smile on my face :) xo
