This Flourless Chocolate Cake might just be one of my most favorite recipes I’ve ever published.
And that’s saying something, since I’ve shared over 1,000 recipes. In fact, this was one of the FIRST recipes I ever shared way back in 2009.
It was in desperate need of improving. However, it wasn’t until a recent trip to La Jolla where Joe and I ate the most delightful flourless chocolate cake during a romantic dinner that I got the motivation to finally revamp this recipe.
This cake is truly a chocolate lover’s dream come true. Joe has requested it no less than 30 times since I finalized the recipe. I’ve honestly probably made it at least 10 times since.
This recipe for flourless chocolate cake is ultra rich, fudgy, and decadent in the best ways possible. You’ll also see this recipe called a flourless chocolate torte.
Serve it with fresh fruit and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delightful Valentine’s Day dessert. Make it for a special date night at home. This is also my go-to dessert for dinner parties and small groups!
You really can’t go wrong with this one.
How to Make Flourless Chocolate Cake
What Does Flourless Chocolate Cake Taste Like?
The beauty of a flourless chocolate cake is the texture! Think of it as sort of a grown-up version of a brownie. This cake tastes like a a mix between a brownie, cake, truffle, and mousse. It’s silky smooth, decadent, and SO delicious! This is the perfect dessert to elevate your next dinner party.
Is Flourless Chocolate Cake Gluten Free? Is There a Difference Between Flourless and Gluten-Free?
Flourless does not always mean gluten-free. Gluten-free means no gluten – which is the protein that can be found in many other ingredients beyond flour. If you’re worried about serving someone who has celiac disease, you’ll want to check your ingredients to ensure the packaging states that it is gluten free and that your tools and equipment haven’t recently touched flour to be safe.
Ingredients for my Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe:
- Chocolate – I used semisweet chocolate chips. More on this below!
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking.
- Sugars – Regular granulated sugar. Sugar does much more than simply sweeten your baked goods! Read more about the role of sugar in baking here.
- Espresso powder – Optional. It’s super subtle and enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Salt – I prefer to use fine sea salt instead of table salt, simply because I prefer the flavor. Learn more about the differences between types of salt here.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor.
- Eggs – Three whole eggs plus an additional egg yolk, for a fantastically fudgy texture. Eggs help provide the structure to this cake because there’s no flour. Be sure your eggs are at room temperature. Use large eggs, about 56 grams in shell.
- Cocoa powder – I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder to achieve a deliciously decadent chocolate flavor and dark color for this chocolate cake. Learn about the differences between natural cocoa powder and Dutch-processed cocoa powder here. If you need to, you can use natural cocoa powder in this recipe instead.
- Heavy whipping cream – chilled. More on that below.
- Powdered sugar and berries – Optional, but it looks so pretty to decorate the baked and cooled cake with either, or both!
What Kind of Chocolate Should I Use?
I used Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but you can use dark or bittersweet chocolate if you prefer. You can use chocolate chips, chocolate wafers, or chopped baking chocolate here. For a special occasion, I highly recommend using a good quality chocolate for this cake, such as Guittard or Callebaut, to give a really high-end, decadent flavor in the baked result.
What Cocoa Powder Should I Use?
There is no leavening agent in this cake so it’s not as important which cocoa is used. Personally, I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder for the most beautifully rich chocolate flavor and color. Dutch-process typically has more fat content than grocery store natural cocoa powder for a richer and more moist texture. You can use a natural (unsweetened) cocoa powder instead, but I recommend using a high-fat natural cocoa powder wherever possible. Read more about cocoa powder here!
How Do You Make Flourless Chocolate Cake?
- Melt the chocolate and butter. In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and butter in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until just barely melted. Stir until smooth. You can also do this step in a double boiler on the stove, or in a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan, on medium-low heat, if you prefer.
- Add the sugar, espresso powder (if using), salt and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Let cool to room temperature.
- Add the eggs. Add in the eggs and yolk all at once, vigorously whisking until smooth.
- Mix in the cocoa powder. Whisk until just combined.
- Whip the heavy cream. Beat the cream to medium peaks. Be careful not to overbeat your cream here. You don’t want stiff peaks for this recipe.
Tip: Although not pictured below, I love using my immersion blender with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed for this task. It’s not a lot of whipped cream, and I find it’s a much faster task using this tool, compared to my electric stand mixer. You can also use a handheld electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the batter until combined.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake. Bake at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes, or until the cake has puffed up, the edges are set but the center is still slightly wobbly, and the center is at least 200°F using an instant-read thermometer.
- Allow to cool completely. Place the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight for the most fudgy texture.
- Serve. Dust with powdered sugar or one of the alternative options below. Use a sharp knife to cut into slices, running the knife under hot water and wiping off the blade between slices. Top with sifted powdered sugar, whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream and a few fresh raspberries or strawberries. Best served chilled.
Recommended equipment:
What Kind of Baking Pan to Use for Flourless Chocolate Cake?
Use a light-colored 8-inch round cake pan for this recipe. Note that this recipe makes enough batter to fill the pan quite full, so use a 3-inch deep pan to ensure no overflow. My favorite brand of cake pan is Fat Daddio’s because they bake evenly and wash up easily. Don’t use a dark-colored or coated nonstick cake pan, or you may end up with dry or overbaked cake edges. I also don’t recommend using a larger pan, as your cake will be very thin.
How to Prepare Your Pan & Prevent the Cake From Sticking
This cake can be slightly challenging to get out of the pan if you don’t prepare the pan properly beforehand. Lightly grease the pan with nonstick cooking spray. I found that Pam nonstick spray worked best with this cake. Sprays like Baker’s Joy (which contains flour) didn’t allow the cake to grip to the sides of the pan, resulting in the edges folding over a bit.
Place a parchment paper round on the bottom of the pan and spray again. I highly recommend these baking parchment rounds, which have tabs to help you easily pull the baked cake from the pan without damaging or breaking the cake. I haven’t tested this cake in a springform pan, but that should work just fine, provided it’s also an 8-inch pan.
How Will I Know When The Cake is Baked?
Using a digital instant-read thermometer will help immensely to determine when your cake is fully baked. Test carefully, and try to test right in the center of your cake, as probing with the thermometer will leave a small hole. Testing in the middle will help preserve the appearance of the finished cake, as you can easily ensure your cut slices camouflage the hole left by the thermometer.
If you plan to present the cake in its entirety, pile a few berries or a fanned strawberry in the center, again to camouflage this hole.
If you don’t have a digital instant-read thermometer, bake until the cake has puffed up, the edges are set and have pulled away from the sides of the pan slightly, but the center is still slightly wobbly. Be careful not to overbake, as an overbaked flourless cake will result in a tough, unpleasant texture.
Why Does the Flourless Chocolate Cake Fall After Baking?
It’s perfectly normal for this cake to fall slightly as it cools. Remember, flour typically acts as the backbone structure support of cake recipes. Without it, some falling is unavoidable. I think it adds to the rustic charm of this type of cake! If your cake falls excessively, it’s likely from overmixing. Be sure to gently mix in the ingredients, particularly in the final few steps, and do not over-mix.
Do I Really Have to Wait to Eat This Cake?
Yes, but I promise it’ll be worth it in the end! This cake is delicate when warm. Leaving it plenty of time to cool completely in the tin, then a few hours in the fridge (preferably overnight) will allow the cake to set up. It’ll become more rich and fudgy as it chills!
Bonus: you can make this the day before a dinner party or event, and it will be ready to devour without having to make it the day-of!
Should I Decorate my Flourless Chocolate Cake? How to Serve Flourless Chocolate Cake:
Decoration-wise, I don’t think this cake needs anything more than a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa powder and a couple berries. If you’re looking to elevate how you plate this elegant dessert, serve with a small piped rosette of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a few fresh berries. Garnishing with fresh mint leaves feels gourmet too!
Feel free to add cooled chocolate ganache (the 1:1 ratio) to the top of the cake. Joe prefers it with ganache, I prefer it without or with just a small spoonful. You could also add a raspberry topping.
To slice, use a sharp knife to cut into slices, running the knife under hot water and wiping off the blade between slices. Feel free to top with garnishes after slicing, too.
Should a Flourless Chocolate Cake be Refrigerated?
Yes, that’ll keep it sturdy and fudgy.
How to Store Flourless Chocolate Cake:
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can You Freeze Flourless Chocolate Cake?
Yes! This cake freezes beautifully. Wrap the entire cake or slices of cake well in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container or a ziptop bag for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Bonus: it tastes great frozen, too! Just note that any powdered sugar you dusted on top of the cake will likely absorb as it thaws; that’s okay – just re-dust with powdered sugar or cocoa powder before serving.
I don’t have a thermometer. How can I tell if it’s done? Toothpick is still gooey after 30 min.
Hi Michele! Tessa talks about this in the pink tip box (above the recipe). Check out the answer to your question under the header ‘How Will I Know When The Cake is Baked?’, along with countless other great baking tips for this recipe, there! Let us know what you think of this cake once you give it a try! 🙂
This is this the best thing i’ve ever baked! Baking intimidates me, but this turned out perfect! I deviated a bit by using a bundt pan and it worked great!
I made the ganache, but the cake rhonestly is sooo moist and chocolatey, you really don’t need the ganache. Just lightly sweetened whipped cream makes it outstanding!
I made this exactly as recipe called for. Everyone loved it, but it was a little bit too fudgey, if that’s possible. I think next time I would decrease the cocoa powder and chips a bit, but I will say every bite went on Thanksgiving.
Can I replace the butter with coconut oil?
Hi Jamie! We haven’t tried that, so we can’t say for sure. It will change the flavor and texture of the cake, but feel free to experiment if you wish. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Tessa
I have a question last time I made this in a cheesecake a with removable bottom which was 9in and came out fine since I removed the bottom. This time I use the Daddio 8 x3 pan , but when I removed it from the pan the center of the cake stuck to the parchment paper.
My question is do you leave the cake in the cake pan in the fridge for 6 hours once it is cooled or do you remove it from pan when cooled and then put in fridge.
Hi Mary! During testing, we refrigerated the cake still in its pan, as it’s still a little fragile before setting up entirely in the fridge – but feel free to experiment with removing it from the pan before refrigeration. Also, if the springform pan works better for you, it’s totally fine to use that instead — it’s all about whatever works best for you! 🙂 Happy baking!
Thank you for this recipe I made it for a birthday party dinner with 14 guests and everyone had a piece with extra strawberries and ice cream it was perfect even though my mixture looked a bit thicker than yours maybe because of the chocolate I used, which was a dark Ghana which is the one we like.
I’ll make it again for sure
Thanks, Heather from Australia
It was pure delicious chocolate decadence. One of the easiest and best chocolate desserts I have made.
Hi, I have an 8-inch round by its only 2 inches deep. Will that be an issue? Also, I don’t have espresso powder but will use ground espresso. Is that okay?
Hi Gina! If your espresso powder is not super fine, I recommend using a mortar and pestle to crush the grounds into a very fine powder. As for your baking pan, we found that our flourless chocolate cake came quite high to the top of our 3-inch deep pan, so if you use a 2-inch deep pan, the cake may overflow. Feel free to use a 9-inch pan instead (just note that your cake will be thinner and need less time in the oven), or reserve a little of the cake batter and bake in a different pan/muffin pans (again, the bake time will be shorter) or if you decided to go ahead and bake the whole thing in your 2-inch deep pan, just be sure to place the cake pan on top of a rimmed baking sheet, to catch any overflow if the cake does spill over. Happy baking!
Just made this last night for my bf’s bday today and it is so beautiful I wish I could upload a picture. I found this fun to make because it’s simple in that it’s a few ingredients and not too many steps but requires patience and attention to detail 🙂
At what point during these recipe steps should I pour ganache onto the flourless chocolate cake? Before the 6 hours of refrigeration or after?
Hi Jodi! If you want to add ganache to the top of this cake, wait until it’s completely cooled before topping. You can do it before or after the 6-hour chill, but if you add it before the 6-hour chill, it may lose its shine. If you add it after the 6-hour chill, I recommend re-chilling for 15 minutes or so, just to firm the ganache up, before slicing as directed in the recipe. I hope that helps! 🙂
My boyfriend requested flourless chocolate cake for his birthday. This was my first attempt at making one, and it was absolutely delicious! I topped mine with chocolate ganache and some fresh raspberries.
This Flourless Chocolate Cake is a chocolate lover’s dream! . And it’s surprisingly easy to make! A must-try for anyone who craves chocolate goodness.
I’ve made this cake twice already! My only big change was to use cool whip in place of whipping the cream, but that was just sheer laziness. Either way, it turned out delicious! Both times I had enough batter left over to fill a small ramekin, so I was able to make a small cake to eat hot and gooey to hold me over until the real cake was ready the next day. Both times I added a thin layer of sliced almonds at the bottom (my friend’s idea) and it really adds a nice texture, and helped to remove from the tin. I’m in my second trimester of my first pregnancy, so this delicious easy cake will be showing up at least two more times before the baby does. Thank you so much for helping with the cravings!
I’m a fairly decent cook but a mediocre baker. Made this for my wife’s birthday and it was the first time that I’ve ever made something that I felt could easily be served in a nice bakery. I had to cut the cooling time in the fridge to 4 hours and I didn’t have any parchment paper but it was fine. She loved it. Thank you so much!
Hooray! That makes us so happy to hear, Sanford!
So good, one of the best cakes I’ve made! Smooth and delicious. Served with strawberries and whipped cream.
I used a dark 9” round non-stick springform pan and it turned out great! To prevent the outside from cooking too fast compared to the middle I wrapped a damp rolled tea towel in aluminum foil and wrapped it around the outside.
Made a practice cake Saturday for my sister’s birthday this week. It was great! Am making it Tuesday and will have fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream on Thursday for her, with a few surprises.
Looking forward to making this cake… can you freeze it?
Hi Monica! Yes – freezing instructions and tips are in the pink tip box (above the recipe). Let us know what you think of this cake once you have tried it! Happy baking 🙂
Hi what size baking pan is needed for this recipe?
Hi Tajah! We used an 8-inch round baking pan for this recipe. I recommend looking through the pink tip box above the recipe – there’s so much information and lots of tips in there! Let us know what you think of this cake once you give it a try! 🙂
I loved this cake. It is very decadent and very chocolatey.
This was the easiest flourless chocloate cake with amazing results.
This was a BIG hit at my Passover sedar. Everyone loved it and many commented it was the best flourless chocolate cake they had had. Not too sweet, easy to make. A keeper, for sure.
I just doubled this and baked it in a 9×13 ceramic pan at 345° for 32 minutes. it looks perfect and puffed. it’s still cooling but after 15 minutes did not sink. I greased with a very light spray, then a light rubbing of coconut oil, no paper. sides were not stuck.
Do you think I could make 1.5 of this recipe in a 10″ pan?
Hi Katherine! We haven’t tried that, so we can’t say for sure how well that would work. Feel free to experiment for yourself – and be sure to read through everything Tessa included in the pink tip box above the recipe, to ensure you learn all her fantastic tips and information before trying out your modification. You can still follow the directions she included for taking the internal temperature of the flourless cake, to ensure it’s baked properly. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Delicious! Rich chocolate flavors and so moist. My family loved it!
Easy to make and delicious! Got rave reviews!
Easy to make but have yet to try since I’m waiting for the cake to chill overnight! If it’s like any other recipe from Tessa I know it’s going to be a winner.
Divine!!! I didn’t have an 8×3 pan so I used a 9×2 cake pan and it still worked beautifully for me! Covered with ganache for even more chocolate joy!
I’m not the best at making cakes but this recipe was so easy to follow you would never know it! The flavor is so good!!! Can’t wait to make it again!
This was my 1st flourless cake. The simplicity of this cake make it quite beautiful to look at. Who doesn’t love chocolate.
this is a simple but elegant dessert. you can keep it simple or “dress it up” by adding a sauce and/or berries. go ahead and bake this, you won’t be disappointed.
New to reading @handletheheat and trying a recipe. Made the flourless chocolate cake and even subbed the whipping cream for a dairy free alternative and it worked wonderfully. I’m serving this cake at a family dinner later this week and they are going to love it! Bonus it’s #glutenfree too!
This cake is smooth, rich & delicious!
While it was excruciatingly hard to wait, the chill time made this cake superb. Rich and delicious. My daughter declared it the best ever!
This recipe is easy to follow and made me feel like a pro baker! Thank you!
This cake is magnificent and decadent! Mine really sunk in the middle, but I put a ganache on top, and it turned out perfectly! Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Fun and easy recipe! Smooth, chocolatey & dreamy! We topped ours off with fresh whipped cream!
I can’t wait to make this again when we have fresh berries available!
Delicious cake and great recipe instructions! I didn’t have any espresso powder but the flavor was still fantastic! Highly recommend!
very Easy to prepare. i loved taste and consistency. first time to prepare it.
This is what chocolate dreams are made of! Sooo very delicious and silky smooth. Everyone loved it, even my kid who never likes anything I make. Win!
This is a dreamy flourless chocolate cake. It is easy to make and will surely impress your guests! ❤️