Imagine a cake that tastes exactly like a brownie; a crisp exterior with a fudgy and gooey interior, packed with the flavour of chocolate. If that image makes your mouth water, you’re in the right place and this is the recipe for you! This flourless chocolate cake is straight from chocolate heaven and is oh-so-indulgent, you won’t be able to resist the temptation to have a second slice and another, and another…!
Additionally, this cake is extremely low-effort and requires only 4 ingredients and basic equipment to be made. Did I mention it’s also gluten-free?!
Using a high quality couverture dark chocolate (minimum 55% cocoa) is important as the main flavour of the cake is imparted via the chocolate.
If you are using unsalted butter, add ½ tsp salt to the batter after adding the vanilla essence to help balance the flavours.
While separating your eggs, ensure that no part of the yolk falls into the whites. Also ensure that there is no grease present in the bowl where you will whip the whites. If you do not take care of these steps, your egg whites will not whip enough to form stiff peaks.
You can omit using both the espresso powder and vanilla extract as those ingredients are primarily there to enhance the flavour of the chocolate and do not serve any other important function.
Ingredients:
150g dark chocolate
100g butter (salted or unsalted)
¼ tsp espresso (optional)
2 large eggs
100g sugar (reduce to 80 if you want a more bitter flavour)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180C.
Grease and line a 6” spring form pan (follow this link: https://youtu.be/rkp7GVYcpEY to see how to easily line a spring form tin)
Chop the chocolate finely and dice the better into 1 inch cubes.
Add both the chocolate and butter into a small glass bowl along with the espresso and set over a pan of simmering water.
Stir the ingredients occasionally until they are completely melted and smooth.
Set this mixture aside and let it cool.
Separate your eggs into two different large bowls.
To the bowl containing the yolks, add half of the measured white sugar and whip the yolks and sugar until doubled in volume. It should look pale yellow in colour and be fluffy to touch.
Slowly stream in the melted chocolate and butter into the egg yolks mixture. Ensure that the chocolate is not too hot otherwise your yolks will curdle. To prevent curdling, add small amounts of the melted chocolate at a time while whisking vigorously to distribute the heat evenly.
Once all of the chocolate mixture has been incorporated into the egg yolk mixture, add in the vanilla essence and whisk until combined. The mixture will be very thick in consistency.
Set aside the egg yolk and chocolate mixture.
Next, whip the plain separated egg whites until soft peaks form.
Add the remaining sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, to the whipped egg whites to form a meringue.
Continue whipping on high speed until stiff peaks have formed.
Add ⅓ of the egg whites to the chocolate and yolk mixture and whip until well combined.
Next, add the remaining egg whites to the chocolate and yolk mixture in small parts and gently fold it in using a spatula.
Continue to fold until all the egg whites have been incorporated into the yolk and chocolate mixture.
Ensure that you do not overmix as this will deflate the air pockets that have been created as a result of whipping the whites and cause your cake to collapse after it has baked.
Pour the batter into the lined springform pan and smoothen it out using a spatula.
Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool and then store it in an air-tight container in a cool dry place.
This cake remains fresh for 5 days.
Enjoy this cake as is with a little icing sugar dusted on top or serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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