Almost Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate*
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate*
- 10 Tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon almond flour can also use all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 4 eggs separated
- powdered sugar for dusting or whipped cream for topping see notes
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°f. Grease an 8 or 9" springform pan and line bottom with parchment.
- Separate eggs into two bowls and set aside.
- Chop chocolate and either melt in a double broiler over gently simmering water or place in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave on 50% power. See notes for microwave melting tips*
- Stir room temperature butter pieces into melted chocolate and whisk until completely incorporated.
- Whisk in flour and sugar.
- Beat eggs yolks gently before whisking slowly into warm (but not hot) chocolate mixture.
- In a separate bowl beat egg whites until they are firm enough to hold peaks but not to the point where they are dry. See notes for egg white tips*
- Using a rubber spatula gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Add remaining egg whites and gently fold them into the batter until no large pieces of egg white remain. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites during this process. See the post for more info on how to fold egg whites into batter.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Place in 425°f oven and bake for 11 minutes*. After 11 minutes, turn off the oven and open the oven door but leave the cake inside. Let cake cool in the oven for 30 minutes before removing and allowing it to cool completely at room temperature.
- *If using an 8" pan let it cook 13 minutes before turning the oven off
To Serve: Unmold cake, cut into 10 wedges and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar or topped with whipped cream (see notes for how to make whipped cream)- You can cover and chill the cake if not eating right away. It will be very dense once chilled. It's best slightly warm and will soften up once reheated. I suggest 10 seconds in the microwave from room temp or 15-20 if chilled.
Notes
A Note On The Chocolate: I use a combination of semi sweet, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate because I prefer a less sweet cake but love the intense chocolate flavor. You can use all semisweet if you'd like. keep the total cocoa content between 60 and 70% for best results.
Melting chocolate in microwave: Make sure your chocolate is chopped and that your bowl is completely dry. Microwaves vary in power so if you're model doesn't have a "melt chocolate option", melt at 50% power and stir every minute, more often as chocolate completes. There will be residual heat so remove it when there are just a couple little unmelted pieces left and stir until they smooth out.
Whipping egg whites: Egg whites that are room temperature will beat best. Make sure there isn't even a trace of yolk in them or they won't get fluffy. Also make sure the bowl and whisk/beaters you are using have no grease on them (this also prevents them from getting fluffy). Use an electric mixer (hand held or stand mixer) for quickest results. You can also beat by hand using a whisk and a copper bowl if you have one, this will take longer but is personally satisfying and a great arm workout!
Egg whites are ready when they will stand up in peaks when the whisk is held upright. Avoid going beyond that point as they will dry out and not provide the body the cake needs.
How to make whipped cream:
- Combine 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/2 tsp vanilla in a chilled mixing bowl.
- Using the whisk attachment of a hand held or stand mixer, beat the whipping cream mixture until it starts to thicken and you have soft peaks when you lift the beater
- Add 1 Tbsp sugar and continue beating until you have thick peaks that don't fall over when held upright.