Flourless Chocolate Cake

A 6-ingredient flourless chocolate cake recipe that is so easy and perfect for entertaining guests with. Every busy woman needs a recipe in her back pocket she can whip up in a heartbeat when it comes to entertaining and this cake fits the bill. You won’t believe how easy it is to whip up!

I still remember the first time I had a flourless chocolate cake. A friend, who just happened to be a pastry chef, popped over to our small Boston apartment to whip up a gourmet meal.

Now I can’t remember what we ate for dinner. I am sure it was delicious. But what I remember was the dessert. A flourless chocolate cake. And what I remember the most was how ridiculously easy it was to watch it get made.

Don’t let the lack of height of this flourless chocolate cake make you think it’s not going to pack a 1-2 punch of chocolate flavor. This short stack of a cake delivers when it comes to chocolate.

And it can all be made in one bowl with about less than 30 minutes of active time on your part.

Like I said this is the cake recipe you want to stick in your back pocket for last minute get togethers when you need a showstopping dessert that doesn’t require a lot of fuss.

Does Flourless Chocolate Cake Have Gluten?

Nope! This cake is completely gluten free.  So gluten free lovers rejoice! And heck, even if you love your desserts full of flour, trust me you won’t miss it. I know you guys are going to love this cake. Like these flourless fudge cookies that still remain one of my most popular recipes to date on this blog, I know this one is going to be a hit as well.

What Ingredients Do I Need To Make This Flourless Chocolate Cake

The best part is how few ingredients is needed to make this flourless cake. 

• Butter–  I always recommend unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt. You can read more here about Unsalted Butter Vs. Salted Butter In Baking And make sure it’s softened properly. Here are How To Soften Butter Fast (3 ways!)
• Sugar – Of course sugar is there to help sweeten this cake! (oops the sugar got left out of the ingredients below!)
• Chocolate – I love using bittersweet chocolate for this cake making it very rich and dark! The chocolate gets melted with the butter. You want to rough chop the chocolate so it melts quickly. 
• Eggs – You need 3 room temperature eggs that will get added to the butter/chocolate mixture. Make sure your mixture has cooled slightly before adding the eggs otherwise it will scramble. Eggs will help to bind and leaven the cake. 
• Vanilla extract – This just adds a little extra flavor and mellows the intensity of the chocolate. 
• Cocoa Powder – Yes more chocolate! Pure unsweetened cocoa powder. 
• Optional: Espresso  (Or instant coffee) powder

Related: You might also like the rest of these 5 Ingredient Desserts

How To Make Flourless Chocolate Cake

This cake can be made in an 8-inch round cake pan or springform pan. Just be sure to spray and line the pan with parchment paper for easy release.

So let’s talk details. To make this cake you need to start by setting up with a double boiler. A double boiler is simply setting a heatproof bowl over a pan with simmering water. Just simply fill the pan with a few inches of water and set your stove on medium-high heat.

This cake calls for 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. Be sure to use good quality chocolate for this cake. You want to melt your chocolate and a stick of butter to the bowl and just stir until it’s melted.

Now once the chocolate and butter has melted, take off the heat and allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. Once slightly cooled, go ahead and add the rest of the other ingredients.

And then it’s time to bake! Just pour the batter into your pan and bake. How easy was that? 

Toppings For This Cake

I think one of the best parts of this cake is the variety in how to top it! Here are a fun few ways to top it:

• Whipped cream <– add a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder and make it chocolate whipped cream. 
• Ganache – A 2-ingredient chocolate sauce you can spread over the top of the cake for a second layer of chocolate heaven.
• Powdered sugar – Just dust it with a little powdered sugar before serving.
• Ice-cream – A warm chocolate cake and a scoop of ice-cream is one of my favorite things in the world. 
• Fresh raspberries – I mean chocolate and raspberries, is there anything better?! I think not. 

 Tips For Making This Flourless Cake <– These are important!

• Use good quality chocolate. This cake is very rich and depends on the quality of chocolate. My favorite storebrand is Ghirardelli chocolate. If buying online, I love Valhrona!
• Line Your Pans! This cake can stick. so just be sure to spray and line the pan with parchment paper for easy release.
• Cool The Mixture. Make sure to let the mixture cool before adding the eggs. The eggs can scramble if the mixture is too hot.

Does Flourless Chocolate Cake Need To Be Refrigerated?

This cake does not need to be refrigerated. It will be fine at room temperature for 2-3 days. Just make sure to keep it covered!

More Chocolate Desserts To Enjoy

• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
• Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
• 5-Minute Chocolate Crazy Cake (+VIDEO!)
• Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

To Make This Flourless Chocolate Cake You Will Need:

• 8-inch springform pan or round cake pan
• Whisk – this is my favorite whisk because it doubles as a bowl scraper!
• Double Boiler

So when it comes to dinner parties and entertaining guests, the meal can be sometimes forgotten. But the dessert? Never. Well least that’s true for me. And I think every meal, should end with chocolate. If you like this recipe and let me know and leave me a comment! And be sure to subscribe to never miss a new recipe or baking tutorial. I’ll send you my 10 baking secrets to help you save time in the kitchen.

Until next time, happy baking!

6-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cake

Only 6 ingredients for this one bowl espresso chocolate cake that can be prepared and baked in under an hour!

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 293kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate not unsweetened
• ▢ 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter
• ▢ 3/4 cup (149 grams) granulated white sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 cup (42 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round cake pan or springform pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
• Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture.
• Allow to cool slightly then add in your eggs and vanilla and whisk well. Stir in the cocoa powder, and espresso powder if using into the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.
• Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
• Dust cake with powdered sugar (or cocoa powder) and serve with ice-cream if desired.

Notes

• Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.
• Use good quality chocolate. This cake is very rich and depends on the quality of chocolate. My favorite storebrand is Ghirardelli chocolate. If buying online, I love Valhrona!
• This cake can stick. so just be sure to spray and line the pan with parchment paper for easy release.
• Make sure to let the mixture cool before adding the eggs. The eggs can scramble if the mixture is too hot.
• Adapted from Epicurious

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 207mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 445IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg

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