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How to Make Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Jun 21, 2024 • 2 min read

Packed with chocolate flavor, a flourless chocolate cake is an easy gluten-free dessert you can make at home.

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What Is a Flourless Chocolate Cake?

A flourless chocolate cake is a chocolate cake made without flour. These gluten-free cakes are bound together by eggs, sometimes with the inclusion of cocoa powder, ground nuts, or whipped cream. Flourless chocolate cakes have a creamy, fudgy center and a crispy, thin crust often dusted with cocoa powder or powdered sugar, or topped with chocolate ganache.

3 Tips for Making Flourless Chocolate Cake

Follow these tips to make delicious flourless chocolate cake:

  1. 1. Use the highest-quality chocolate. Semisweet chocolate chips will work in a pinch, but the main feature of this cake is its intense chocolate flavor, so it's best to use a high-quality bittersweet chocolate bar. (Bittersweet chocolate contains 70 percent cacao, whereas semisweet chocolate contains 60 percent cacao.)
  2. 2. Make your own whipped cream. Serve this cake with homemade whipped cream. To make it, simply whisk heavy cream, a pinch of sugar, and a splash of vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Making the whipped cream at home allows you to control the sweetness level. Since the cake is already quite rich, it's best served with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
  3. 3. Gently fold the ingredients. In baking, "folding" refers to incorporating an ingredient using a scooping motion. Using a flexible rubber spatula, gently scoop from the bottom of the bowl up to the top. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until the ingredients are incorporated.

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake Recipe

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makes

One 9-inch cake

prep time

30 min

total time

1 hr 15 min

cook time

45 min

Ingredients

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

  2. 2

    Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter and line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment.

  3. 3

    Create a double boiler by setting a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan with two inches of simmering water.

  4. 4

    Combine the eggs, yolk, and sugar in the heatproof bowl and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture reaches room temperature.

  5. 5

    Transfer the egg mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a handheld mixer to whisk the egg mixture until it quadruples in volume.

  6. 6

    Combine the chocolate and espresso in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until melted. (Alternatively, use the double boiler to melt the chocolate.)

  7. 7

    In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a handheld mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks and set aside.

  8. 8

    Using a flexible rubber spatula, gently fold about one third of the egg mixture into the warm chocolate mixture.

  9. 9

    Then, fold the egg-and-chocolate mixture into the remaining egg mixture, followed by the whipped cream.

  10. 10

    Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

  11. 11

    Bake until just set, about 35 minutes.

  12. 12

    Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack, about 15 minutes.

  13. 13

    To invert, flip the cake onto a cutting board, then onto a serving plate.

  14. 14

    Using a fine-mesh strainer, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder.

  15. 15

    Let the cake cool to room temperature on the serving plate.

  16. 16

    Serve with ice cream or whipped cream and fresh raspberries, if desired.

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