Flourless Chocolate Cake
This easy Flourless Chocolate Cake with a silky chocolate ganache glaze is the BEST chocolate cake recipe. It is rich, decadent, and the perfect dessert for any celebration. The cake is gluten-free and super decadent.
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They say it’s MY birthday and because it’s my birthday I made YOU a chocolate cake. And it’s not just any chocolate cake, it’s the BEST chocolate cake. Are you guys ready for this Flourless Chocolate Cake? It is 100% decadent and worth every single bite. If you are a chocolate lover, you are going to fall in love with this rich chocolate cake after one bite. It is so rich you probably only need a bite or two, but it’s SO good you will end up eating the entire piece…and you might even want another piece if you are like me. Hey, it’s my birthday so calories don’t count:)
I am normally not a big cake person, I am a cookie gal, but this cake from King Arthur Flour is my FAVORITE! Let’s get into the details.
The Best Flourless Chocolate Cake
I love this cake because it is SO easy to make and tastes SO gourmet. You guys are going to die when you make this cake because it tastes like a fancy restaurant or bakery dessert but it’s SO easy! Like almost as easy as a box mix. For reals. It is made in ONE bowl and you don’t need a mixer! So not only will you love the cake, but you will love the easy clean up too!
The ingredients are standard ingredients, nothing crazy. I bet you have them all in your kitchen right now! The flourless chocolate cake is made of:
- chocolate
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- salt
- vanilla extract
- cocoa powder
Simple! I also add a chocolate ganache glaze to the cake because you can never have too much chocolate, but that is easy too. You only need chocolate and heavy cream.
Tips for Making Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Bake the cake in an 8-inch round cake pan. Make sure you grease the pan with nonstick cooking AND line it with parchment paper. I also grease the parchment paper after it goes in the pan. You don’t want the cake to stick.
- Make sure you use the best chocolate for the recipe so you get the best chocolate flavor. You can use chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate.
- I use semi-sweet chocolate but if you like darker chocolate, bittersweet would work well too.
- I use Dutch process cocoa because it gives the cake a deep, chocolate flavor.
- I melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, but you can melt it on low in a pan using the stove top.
- Don’t over bake the cake. You want it to be nice and fudgy. It is done when the center reads 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Let the cake cool completely before adding the chocolate ganache glaze.
- After the cake is glazed, let the glaze set up before cutting. I like to put it in the refrigerator for a few hours so the glaze can set up.
- Serve the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh raspberries. We also like to serve whipped cream or ice cream on the side balance out the rich chocolate cake.
Is this flourless chocolate cake gluten-free? YES, there is no flour in the recipe. And don’t let the gluten-free part scare you if you normally don’t do gluten-free, this seriously is the BEST chocolate cake. I can’t say it enough.
This easy one bowl chocolate cake is dense, fudgy, chocolaty, and OH SO DIVINE! It is the perfect dessert for any occasion-birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Passover because there is no flour, really any holiday or any day! Whenever you are craving chocolate like mad, make THIS cake. It will WOW you! And I love serving this cake when we entertain because it is easy to make, pretty to serve, and everyone loves it! You can’t go wrong with this flourless chocolate cake. Make it and you will fall in love too!
How to Make Flourless Chocolate Cake
If you like this chocolate cake recipe, you might also like:
- Flourless Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Easy Chocolate Cake
- Strawberry Chocolate Cake
- Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Sandwich Cookies
Flourless Chocolate Cake
This is the BEST Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe. It is easy to make, gluten-free, and oh so decadent! It is the perfect dessert for any occasion.
Yield: Serves 10-12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
For the chocolate ganache:
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan. Place it in the bottom of the pan and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To make the cake, put the chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft, about one minute. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. If you need to reheat, do for 10 seconds at a time and stir.
- Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Add the eggs and stir until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for 25 minutes or until the cake has a thin crust on the top and the center registers 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Let the cake cool on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the pan with a butter knife and carefully turn it upside down onto a cake plate or serving plate. The bottom of the cake will now be the top of the cake. Let the cake cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Combine the chocolate and cream in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the cream is very hot so it will melt the chocolate. I always start with 30 seconds and check it. It might take longer, it just depends on your microwave. Remove from the microwave, and stir until the the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
- Spread the chocolate ganache glaze evenly over the cooled cake. Let the glaze set up for a few hours before cutting and serving the cake. I always put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Cut the cake into slices and serve with powdered sugar and raspberries, if desired. This cake is also great with whipped cream or ice cream.
Recipe from King Arthur Flour
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This look incredible and very rich!
You know you to celebrate your birthday RIGHT! I just adore this cake, Maria. And I adored you, too! Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!!! The best way ever to celebrate a special day!
Happy Birthday!!! That cake looks delicious!!
Happy Birthday Maria!! I hope you had a wonderful day! This cake looks so decadent and delicious! It’s perfect for celebrating your special day!
Happy birthday and thank you for the recipe, it looks delicious!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY. This looks like the best celebration ever!
Hi! I’d like to make this but I would rather measure the chocolate chips by weight than cups. Do you have a soecific measurement in weight, please? Thanks!
6.2 ounces of chocolate chips, that is 1 cup.
Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a wonderful day. Can this cake be made the night before? If so, can it be stored with the glaze on it, or would it be better to wait (and then pop it back in the fridge for a few hours before I serve it?)
Update: I made this for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day and he proclaimed that it is “restaurant worthy.” He also ate the leftovers (about half of the cake) for dinner last night. So I guess he liked it! 🙂 Just a quick note to say that it turned out perfectly baking it the night before; I kept it in the fridge overnight and pulled it out when I got home from work. Also, I didn’t use parchment – just sprayed a nonstick cake pan with Pam pretty generously. And I only had half and half on-hand for the ganache instead of heavy cream, but that also was fine. Thanks for the great recipe!
Happy birthday! What a great way to celebrate.
I’ll take a slice of this chocolate beauty!!
“you can never have too much chocolate.” that is soooo true. I love flourless chocolate cake and this sounds delicious with the ganache on top. I’m def going to have to make this one. The boyfriend will love it too as he has repeatedly told me he only likes chocolate desserts.
That looks so good, I’m going to have to try it.
love how straightforward this is, and nice tip about greasing the pan and using parchment paper for this too, thank you for making this work without the flour!
Happy belated birthday…
I’m making this today….
My birthday is on the 14th of this month (nice to meet you fellow Aquarius)!!
How attractive, inviting and vibrant it is ! Thank you so much !
Hi
Can I bake this cake in a smaller pan?
Mine came out a little flat-out ish.
Tasting super though
I’d like to make this dairy free, will margine work instead of the butter? What can I substitute for the heavy cream?
I have never made it dairy free. You could try coconut oil and almond milk, but I am not sure because I haven’t tried it.
Help! I only have a 9-inch pan. Will that make a huge difference??
I think the cake will look flatter than the picture but that won’t have any impact on how yummy it is! (It may cook faster, too.)
Yes, the cake will be thinner, but it is really rich so a thin piece might be fine:) And the baking time might be different so check at 20 minutes to be safe!
I made this for my family for Valentines Day
OMG it is wonderful easy to make and sinfully delicious.
5 star
Yahoo!
I made this a day ahead of time for our Valentine’s Day dinner. It was easy to make and delicious! It was rich but not over the top. Highly recommend!
Yay! So happy you liked it!
I made this and the entire family loved it. I will definitely make it again.
I made this today and it is absoulutly delicious! This is our new favorite dessert! It was so easy and so nice because not many dishes to have to clean up! It looked so fancy but yet it was so simple to make, my favorite kind of recipe! Thank you so much for such a yummy dessert!!
I made this for Valentine’s Day, and it is RIDICULOUSLY delicious and easy!! In fact, I made it with ye old Ralph’s brand cocoa and Target brand semi-sweet chocolate chips, because that’s what I had around the house, and it was crazy good! Served it with sliced strawberries and nothing else. PS–it also goes REALLY well with coffee….
Glad you enjoyed the cake! Thanks for sharing!
Can this cake be made in advance, then frozen?
Can this cake be frozen without the glaze?
Yes! I have one in my freezer right now:)
I made this today and it was a huge hit! Exactly 20 minutes in a 9 inch pan. Still a decent height though an 8 inch pan would be a little nicer if you have one. So easy and rich.
I love this cake! Very rich and decadent. The only thing I would change is the butter content. I think the butter flavor comes through too strong. Idk what to do to substitute it, but next time I’ll try using half as much butter.
I have made this 3 times in one month because it is so good. I did change the recipe to suit my needs though. I used coconut oil instead of butter, coconut sugar instead of refined sugar, and I cut the topping recipie in half and used plain yogurt instead of heavy cream. It turned out incredible – I haven’t tasted the cake with butter but it is unreal delicious with coconut oil! I also topped with blackberries and whipped cream – so amazing!
Thanks for sharing your adaptations! I will have to try it your way next time! Glad you like the cake!
How much coconut oil did you use?
Use the same amount as butter.
Can I use milk chocolate chips instead?
Can I use granulated splenda instead of sugar?
I have never tried Splenda. Let me know if you try it!
Has anyone doubled this? I have a 10-inch spring form and was thinking of doubling the recipe but don’t want it to collapse in the center. Thoughts??
I haven’t tried doubling it.
I would use two 8″ pans, and use ganache between the layers. I’d put the layers together before the ganache cools.
This cake is FABULOUS! Easy to make but it would absolutely be worth twice the effort. I served mine with whipped cream and raspberries and it got rave reviews. Thank you very much!
SO glad you loved the cake!
Please help! I am getting ready to make this cake for tomorrow night’s Passover dinner and I’m concerned. My 8 inch cake pan is only 1 1/4 inches high! Is this pan tall enough to use for this cake?
I did. It worked.
YAY! Thanks for letting us know!
As everyone else has commented – this cake is fabulous! Delicious! Also, this recipe is easy, and the instructions are well done. I did not have an 8” cake pan – I have only 9” pans. I felt using this quantity in a larger pan would make the cake flatter and therefore, drier.A 9” cake pan is 26% bigger than an 8” pan, and the recipe is easily bumped up by one-third – so, at 33% larger – it’ll fit into a 9” pan perfectly. Here is the recipe for 9” cake pan:Chocolate chips: 1 ⅓ C (7.8 oz)Butter: 10 TSugar: 1 C Salt: 1/3 t Eggs 4Cocoa Powder: ⅔ CNotes: These modifications increase the original recipe by ⅓ – which is perfect for a 9” cake pan.BUT – as so many cooks, I tweaked the recipe: if you’re using semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup of sugar is too sweet (for me), so I kept the original amount at ⅔ cup. Also, I didn’t bump the amount for the icing – it’s way too much, and I still had left over icing even with the larger round.
Thanks for all of this info! Glad it worked in a bigger pan and so glad you liked the cake!
Thank you for the measurements for 9” pan. Didn’t want to buy an 8” pan just for this. Also thank you for helpful hints.
Can this be made using maple syrup instead of the refined sugar?
I haven’t tried it, but I bet it would still be good.
This cake is delicious! I made a combo of this, and their recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies! I did the cake, then a layer of their peanut butter frosting, a layer of peanut butter cookie (1 giant cookie baked in an 8″ round cake pan) and topped it all of with chocolate ganache! Amazing! Incredible!!!
Can this be made with eggbeaters?
Question, why would you not combine — the cocoa powder and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix— until glossy smooth?
I made this cake with this recipe and it was amazing! I couldn’t find Dutch process cocoa powder anywhere though. I used Nestle cocoa powder instead. Does anyone know where I can buy Dutch process cocoa? I’d like to make it again. I live in Miami and I tried Publix and Whole Foods and didn’t see it anywhere.
Williams Sonoma has the Dutch processed Cocoa-amazing!
Go to Whole Foods buy
365 Everyday Value, Organic Cocoa Powder, 8 Ounce
Any cocoa powder that states on label it has been treated with an alkali is dutched
Just baked this cake for the second time using the same exact ingredients but in a different oven (same Miele oven) just at my friend’s apartment in the building instead and it actually burned the top a little. I’m pretty surprised as I did nothing differently and it’s literally the same oven in every unit in the building. I expect the cake to be drier this time around. First time it was perfect. Was the recipe always 25 minutes in the oven? Seemed a little long.
Every oven is different, yours might need less time!
You should have her friend check the temperature of her oven. There’s info on line. You just have to take off the oven temperature knob and adjust!
We tried this cake recipe but got stuck on Step #5, where the directions say that the cake should have a “think crust.” Please help clarify this confusion. Thank you.
Thin crust! Sorry, I fixed it!
Can I make this in a spring form pan? Guessing no-I’m going to do this tomorrow night for Monday Memorial Day brunch!
🙂 thanks!
Do you have an 8-inch springform? If so, I think it will be fine. If it is bigger, the cake will be thinner.
I ended up at the mall and snagged a 8” round pan from WS! I just took it out of the oven. So far so good! Thank you for your fast reply. I bet my springform pan is 9”. Thanks for the heads up!
🙂
What can I substitute the eggs with?
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
3 Tbsp hot water
Mix well and let it sit until it is the consistency of a beaten egg. Usually 10-15 minutes.
We do this all the time and it works really well.
So yummy! Everyone loved it! (I popped my cake in the freezer for thirty minutes once I put on the ganache to help it “harden” quicker. )
Yay!
Unbelievable! Delicious! I made it because it was GF-but everyone ate it-it went! The chocolate topping is incredible. Thank you!!! ❤️ Mandi
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I. Want to know if you know of a recipe for this that is dairy free..
You can try using coconut oil instead of butter.
Can you substitute anything for the chocolate? More cocoa powder? Trying to make it sugar free. Thank you
I made this but omitted the OJ and used almond flavor instead and everyone at church loved it. It is very rich so 16 pieces just big enough. Ice Cream would of cut that richness down. I will make again.
I made a sugar free version of this cake repacking the sugar with stevia + plain yogurt and used Heshey’s Sugar free chocolate chipsLeft off ganache adding sliced strawberries It was amazing! The perfect dessert for diabetic friends and family
I’ve made this recipe twice – it’s decadently delicious! First time, I made it with no changes. Second time, I added orange liqueur to the ganache… Oh my! I think I’ll have a piece now!
Do you have the nutrition on this? Calories? Carbs?
This was Lovely i would make it again and again.
Hi! I have an egg allergy. I tried using applesauce as an egg replacer and it did not work well. It eventually did start to cook on the edges but there was too much liquid sitting on the top. Any ideas? Thanks so much!
Maybe try a flax egg? Mix flax with water?
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
3 Tbsp hot water
Mix well and let it sit until it is the consistency of a beaten egg. Usually 10-15 minutes.
We do this all the time and it works really well.
Made this cake today. Think I may have used a slightly larger pan so came out a bit thinner than I’d like. Will def make this again using a smaller springform.
May I ask for the weight of 1/2 cup butter in grams? Would love to try this recipe. Thanks…
Thank you for this recipe. Can I bake this using a 6” round pan? Thanks!
This cake is fabulous, it’s like eating fudge! Made it for a friend because it was gluten free, but don’t let that term stop you from making it, it’s absolutely delicious and so chocolaty!
Glad you like the cake!
I want to make this without sugar. Could I use pyure or monk fruit instead? Would the amount change?
Best thing I have eaten in a month. Super easy and super delicious!
What is the carb count?
I am making this cake tomorrow for my husbands birthday and I can’t wait. Question for you when a recipe calls for Vanilla extract when do I use imitation vanilla and when real extract my general question. For this recipe which should I use.
I always use pure vanilla extract. Happy birthday to your husband!
I am making this cake for my husbands birthday tomorrow. I have a general question when a recipe calls for Vanilla extract when do I use Imitation vanilla extract and when do I use real vanilla extract. For this recipe which do I use. Thank you.
I LOVE this cake! I make it for birthdays and sometimes just because I want to. Easy, delicious, and adaptable since I use almond milk for the ganache and it turns out brilliant! Thank you!
I don’t have s thermometer
Any other suggestions??
I never used one, but 20 minutes worked perfectly when I baked it in my toaster oven!
This cake is delicious!
i would like to sell this cake at the Farmers Market . I would not be able to bake it in a spring form pan . can i make it is am 8 inch disposable pan . will it stick to the pan ???? it won’t get frosted either .. I am in SW FL and it is too hot !!!
Any other recipe that is gluten free that would be good for an outdoor market ???
I have made this 3 times and it’s amazing. The baking chocolate I use comes from a friend who has a chocolate plantation in Ecuador. I top it off with raspberry gelato.
How decadent!!
OMG!! You’ll never bake another chocolate cake again, using flour & leavening. I made this cake 2 days ago. I stuck 3 Kraft caramels in the cake before baking. I made caramel ganache glaze instead of chocolate. Mmmm.
I have my 2nd cake in th oven today for a party tonight. I’ve added tart Montmorecy dried cherries before baking. I’ll let you know if it’s a hit @ the party. Might make a small amount of caramel ganache for the top. If not, will just sift some powdered sugar on top.(or not, lol!)
OH MY WORD. So Good, so easy, a real winner!
Absolutely delicious. Made this for our mothers 92nd birthday. She loved it!!
This looks delicious! Any thoughts on using ghee in place of butter? I need this to be dairy free as well.
I haven’t tried it, but if you do, let me know! It should work, I am just not 100% sure since I haven’t tried it.
I had a dense chocolate cake at an Italian restaurant in London and was hoping to find a recipe that was similar! This was everything I had hoped it would be! Decadent & delicious!
I recently was put on a gluten free diet, and remembered I love flourless chocolate cake! I just made this and was surprised at how easy it was! Not to mention how delicious!! So good!! Just like eating a truffle!! Thank you for this recipe, will be my new go to when I need to make a desert or just crave chocolate! I didn’t have cream, plus I’m lactose intolerant so I used lactose free whole milk and a little dab of butter for the ganache and it came out just great!!
Glad you loved it and thanks for the lactose milk tip!
This is the best flourless chocolate cake ever. Was a super hit at the birthday party we had at work for a chocolate love. Don’t look for another recipe, this is fabulous