Whether you’re gluten free or not, a flourless chocolate cake recipe is one to have in your cake arsenal. Always impressive. Always fudgy and delicious. This one’s a corker from the archives of our past MamaBake head chef and is well deserving of a run in your kitchen!
Ingredients:
6 large eggs
180 grams brown sugar
180 grams of dark chocolate, at least 70% cacao
50 grams butter
2 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. Grease an 18-20cm round springform pan and line the sides with a couple of long pieces of baking paper, about double the height of the pan.
Separate your eggs. Whisk the egg yolks together with the brown sugar until thick, pale and ribbony. Place the whites in a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer.
Break up the dark chocolate and place in an ovenproof bowl with the butter. Place the bowl in the oven as it heats and before the oven reaches 170, the chocolate and butter will have melted. Stir to combine and allow to cool to just warm.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Whisk together butter and chocolate mixture with the egg yolks and sugar.
Add cocoa powder and salt, whisk to combine.
Add a third of the egg whites to the cake mixture, gently fold to combine. Add the rest and fold through. Do this really gently so you don’t lose the air you have beaten into the whites.
Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until just set.
The cake rises like a soufflé (it is basically a lot like a soufflé). When you open your oven (don’t open it before!) at around 30 minutes, just gently press the centre with a finger. It should give a little but ultimately feel like it is set and won’t collapse into a puddle. If it feels too soft, let it go in the oven for another five minutes.
As the cake cools the centre will sink while the edges will stay high. The cake often gets a few shallow cracks when this happens, but it just adds to the rustic look. This serves 6-8 people depending on greed level.
