Flourless Chocolate Cake with Ganache
SERVES 10 | LEVEL: BEGINNER
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Chocolate lovers, my soul sisters and brothers…this decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake with Ganache will blow your mind. Know what else will blow your mind? How easy it is to make. On top of being rich, smooth, and delicious, it’s a good recipe to keep in mind for occasions where you may need a flourless dessert. Depending on how you observe Passover, this may be a great addition to your seder dinner because it doesn’t use flour or leavening. It’s also a great gluten-free dessert. I promise, once you bring this baby out to present to the crowd, you’ll be a hero.
Don’t be intimidated by the ganache. It’s nothing more than melted chocolate with heavy cream. Easy breezy!
This recipe calls for espresso powder. You can buy espresso powder for baking, or you can buy instant espresso powder at the grocery store, such as Cafe Bustelo. Espresso powder will elevate any chocolate cake or brownies, and will be that secret ingredient that puts it over the top!
Use Dutch-process cocoa for this recipe (not interchangeable with unsweetened baking cocoa, like Hershey’s). You may be able to find it at your grocery store. I usually purchase mine from Fresh Market, but it’s also available at retailers who sell baking products and on Amazon.
For this recipe, you’ll need either a standard 8″ cake pan, or an 8″ springform pan. Either will work just fine. If you don’t already own a pan and are building your collection of baking pans, I’d recommend getting an 8″ springform. A springform will come in handy when you want to make a cheesecake, or other cakes that are a little bit sticky. A springform makes it very easy to release.
Once the ganache is poured on top, I decorate my flourless cake with these adorable Chocolate Crunchy Pearls, but you can decorate it with shaved chocolate curls, sprinkles, coffee beans, chopped almond, walnuts, or hazelnuts, raspberries, strawberries, or nothing at all. If you do decide to add fruit on top, make sure it’s well dried.
Ingredients:
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional but recommended
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
Ganache:
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
Optional:
Chocolate Crunch Pearls, shaved chocolate curls, chopped almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts, raspberries or strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a metal 8″ round cake pan, or the bottom of an 8″ springform pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit (or you can purchase parchment rounds).
- Lay the circle on the bottom of your greased pan, and grease on top of the parchment.
- Put the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat 30 seconds at a time, until the butter is melted and the chips begin to melt. Or if you prefer, you can use a saucepan and melt everything on top of your stove. Either way, only heat the butter and chocolate enough to be able to melt the butter, soften the chips, and gently stir until they are incorporated. If you use a saucepan to melt, pour the melted chocolate mixture into a heat-proof bowl, using a rubber spatula or a spoon to scrape.
- Stir in the sugar, salt, espresso powder and vanilla.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently incorporate everything together. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just enough to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes. The top should have formed a thin crust. Insert a cooking thermometer into the cake near the center. The cake is done when the inside has reached 200.
- Remove cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan by running a knife between the cake and the pan (carefully, so you don’t scratch the pan), or by using a thin nylon spreader.
- Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving plate, by bringing the plate to the top of the cake pan and inverting it. If you’ve used a springform pan, release and remove the sides, and use a large spatula to carefully slide the cake onto a serving plate (you can leave the parchment round as it is. If you used a traditional cake pan and inverted it onto a plate, carefully peel off the parchment paper. The edges may crumble a bit, but that’s fine.
- Allow the cake to completely cool before glazing with the ganache.
To make the ganache:
- Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to steam. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Stir briefly to combine, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Stir again, gently and then more vigorously until the chocolate has all melted and the ganache becomes smooth. If any of the chocolate hasn’t melted, reheat briefly and stir until smooth.
- Pour the glaze on the center of the cake, and use the back of a spoon to spread out from the center. You can stop there, or spread it enough that the glaze is dripping over the edges if you prefer.
- Sprinkle the top with chocolate pearls, shavings, chopped nuts, or whatever you’re using and allow to set several hours before serving. You can refrigerate it to expedite this process if need be.
- When its time to serve the cake, you’ll want to serve sparingly – this cake is RICH! Use a very sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry. You may need to repeat this if the cake feels very sticky.
- Store leftovers (if you have any!) in the refrigerator up to one week.
Recommended tools and equipment:
- 8” cake pan or 8” springform pan
- Cooking thermometer
- Nylon spreader (great for loosening cakes and muffins without scratching your pan)
- Parchment paper, or parchment rounds