Light and Fluffy Flourless Chocolate Cake

This flourless chocolate cake recipe has only 5 ingredients! It is super light and airy and not dense like other recipes. Even without the flour, this easy cake is still fluffy, spongey, and delicious-it’s almost like magic! You will love this gluten free chocolate cake!

You may have your doubts about how good this cake is- I mean cake without flour? Blasphemy.

But once you make this cake, I BET you will change your mind. The first time I made it I had my doubts too. In pastry school we made our fair share of cakes but never made a flourless cake, so I was skeptical. After I took that first bite though- I hooked! The cake is super fluffy and light and has a rich chocolate flavor. It’s not dense like some other flourless chocolate cakes.

What gives this cake its light and airy texture are the whipped eggs whites that are then folded into the chocolate mixture. They help the cake rise in the oven and then when the cake comes out it sinks slightly to create this crackled chocolate crispy top.

While this may be the only gluten-free cake recipe on my site you can always substitute 1:1 gluten free flour for my 6 inch chocolate cake recipe, chocolate bundt cake, or my one bowl chocolate cake.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• When you dig into this cake, expect a light, fluffy, and spongey cake. This is not dense at all!
• You can use either semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate.
• The cake has a rustic crackled crunchy meringue top when it comes out of the oven.
• It’s the perfect decadent cake to make for Passover.
• It can be made dairy free using Earth Balance and dairy free chocolate.
• It uses simple ingredients and is easy to make!

Ingredients you need

• Unsalted Butter- You’ll melt the butter with the chocolate
• Semi Sweet Chocolate– You can use either semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate for this. You can even use chocolate chips.
• Instant coffee– For a deeper flavor. Sub vanilla extract if you dont want to use it. You can also add some espresso powder in more a deeper flavor, try 1/2 tsp.
• Granulated Sugar– The sugar is mixed with the egg whites to create the meringue that lifts the cake.
• Eggs– The egg whites and yolks need to be separated. In this case, cold eggs whip better than ones at room temperature.

Type of chocolate

I use 8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate in this recipe. You can either use a baking bar or chocolate chips. I don’t recommend using milk chocolate for this recipe because it would be too sweet. Any dark chocolate or bittersweet is fine too but it wont be as sweet.

The best way to measure out the chocolate is if you have a kitchen scale. If you don’t, the amount you need is about 1 1/3rd cups of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips.

How to make flourless chocolate cake

Prep your pan: This cake is made in a 9″ springform pan. Line it with parchment paper or spray with baking spray. If you don’t have a springform pan don’t worry! You can make this in a 8″ or 9″ round cake pan or even a disposable cake tin! I do prefer to line it with parchment for any tin you use, it makes the clean up a breeze!

Melt the butter and the chocolate: In a microwave safe large bowl combine the butter and chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between. Let the chocolate cool for 5 minutes. You can also melt the butter and chocolate over a double boiler.

Separate the eggs: Carefully separate the egg yolks from the eggs whites in two small bowls making sure not to get any yolk into the eggs whites. If even the tiniest amount of fat gets into the whites, it will stop the whites from whipping.

Make the chocolate mixture: Add the egg yolks and tbsp black coffee into the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. I usually use 1/4-1/2 tsp instant coffee with 1 tbsp hot water.

Whip the egg whites: Next whip the whites in an electric mixer ( either a stand or hand mixer) fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed. Slowly add in the sugar around the edges of the bowl. Whip until stiff peaks. Stiff peaks hold their shape and soft peaks will flop all the way over.

Fold the egg whites: Using a spatula, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture 1/3rd at a time. Gently fold until there are no white streaks before adding more. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get all the chocolate.

Bake the cake: Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. The cake is done when the sides start to pull away from the pan and the top looks a little crackled. It will deflate once you take it out of the oven and will create beautiful cracks. The center of the cake might still be a little jiggly and thats ok!

Tips on separating eggs:

• Be really careful when separating the egg yolks from the whites. The whites will not whip if even the smallest amount of yolk gets into the white. If it does, you will have to start over again.
• You will need 3 bowls. 1 is your mixing bowl and 2 are small bowls.
• Crack the egg, and pour it into your hand. Let the white drip from your fingers into one small bowl. Place the yolk into the other small bowl.
• Pour the white into the mixing bowl and then repeat the process one at a time. Pour the egg white into the mixing bowl only after ensuring that no small yolk parts got mixed in.
• This ensures that if you get a small amount of yolk into one of your whites, you wont ruin the rest of the egg whites you already cracked!
• You can also crack the egg and separate the yolk from the white by pouring it back and forth between the cracked egg shells but this give you more of a chance of piercing the yolk and it running loose.

Tips on whipping egg whites

• When whipping the egg whites don’t dump all the sugar in at once, it will be too heavy for the whites to whip up all that sugar at one time. Instead slowly add the sugar over 1-2 minutes.
• Whip until stiff peaks form about 2-3 minutes. A stiff peak is when you take the whip off the mixer and turn it upside down and the egg white stands up stiffly without drooping all the way down. Check the picture above for what you want it to look it!

How to fold egg whites

1. Always fold egg whites into the rest of your batter no matter what you are baking. Never the other way around or they will deflate.
2. The whole point of whipping egg whites is to create lightness and lift in your cakes. This is what takes the place of the flour. If they deflate, the cake wont rise as high.
3. Using a spatula, take some egg whites and dump it on top of the chocolate mixture. Lightly dip the spatula into the middle of the batter and then go around the bowl folding and turning the spatula as you go. Not stirring.
4. Keep doing the same motion- starting from the middle, bringing the spatula toward you. Then folding to the outer edges of the bowl until most of the white streaks are gone.
5. Continue this process until all the whites are folded in. The batter should be uniform in color and thick.

Yield

This recipe feeds 10-12 people. Definitely make 2 if you want leftovers!

Serving the cake

Serve this cake with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Use a small sifter to sift the sugar all over the top of the cake. Either serve it in the pan with the parchment paper, or lift it out carefully and serve on a cake plate.

You can also top the cake with whipped cream and fresh berries or some vanilla ice cream!

Storing and freezing

Storing– To store this cake, cover it lightly with plastic wrap and leave it on your countertop. Do not store this in an airtight container.

Do not cover the cake completely. If you cover it completely (like in a cake dome) then the crunchy meringue tops (totes my favorite part) will melt into the cake. To keep the crunchy top, make sure you leave a little spot open when you cover it in plastic wrap that lets a little bit of air in.

Don’t worry about the cake drying out. Because there is no flour it won’t get stale! Also just so you know, this does not need to be refrigerated.

Freezing– I do not recommend freezing this cake, the texture will not be the same as when it is made fresh.

Recipe tips

• Use a pyrex 8″ bowl to melt the chocolate and butter. The reason I specify the size is because you will be adding in the whipped egg whites into this bowl and I have noticed that my whites tend to deflate less when I use a smaller size bowl rather than a larger one.
• Make sure the bowl you are using to melt the butter and chocolate is completely dry before you add the chocolate to it, otherwise the chocolate may seize up!
• To make the brewed coffee use 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee and top it with 1 tablespoon hot or boiling water. I usually just eyeball this!
• You can leave out the coffee and substitute it with 1 tbsp vanilla extract.
• Make sure to read the tips on how to separate, whip, and fold the egg whites for recipe success!
• Do not over bake, otherwise the cake wont be as light as it should be.

Recipe FAQ

Why do I need to fold the egg whites? Folding the egg whites ensures that the cake stays light and airy and not dense like other cakes.

Why doesn’t my cake have the cracked top? You may have over whipped or under whipped your egg whites, or you deflated them when you folded them into the batter. It could also be because the cake is over baked.

What makes this cake light and fluffy? It’s from the whipping of the egg whites into a meringue that creates a light and fluffy structure to the cake.

Can I double the recipe? I don’t recommend it because the egg whites might not be able to lift a heavier batter. Rather I would say make two.

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