Flourless Chocolate Cake

I really must love Christmas because I'm sharing my well kept secret recipes. Ahh , the true meaning of  Christmas. I love this cake, I adore it in fact. It's gorgeous, heavenly and all things good.

It is flourless cake, I honestly thought, there could be no such thing.  So every time I found a recipe for one, I carefully piled over it, promising myself I would gather the guts to try it someday. Then again, the recipe is so inviting and enchanting you can't ignore it for long. I first tried this cake, a couple of years ago, when my sister came visiting. I love it at first bite and since then ,there has been no looking back. I've made it for friends who came over, for dinners we hosted , for friends who I was catching up with and every time, this has been an absolute winner.

This cake is super moist, with a chocolate mousse like texture and is as delicate as it sounds. The cake will rise beautifully as it cooks, given the egg whites in the batter, but it'll sink like a souffle once it's out , just the way it is supposed to. To let the cake not sink as much, once it has baked, leave the cake in the oven for a while, with the oven door slightly open. This way, there wont be too sudden a drop in temperature and the cake wont sink as much. The cake is very soft when it is just baked but will firm up as it cools down. Don't refrigerate the cake, or it will turn hard and chewy and lose all its charm. Instead, serve it warm with a blob of ice cream and your guests will thank you. I always make this cake with dark chocolate and I really wouldn't think of making it any other way. If you think your friends don't like dark chocolate, expect some converts.


I agree baking a cake without flour can be both daunting and exciting and I totally understand if you feel a bit nervous to try it out. But, here I am, giving you a fail proof recipe, tried and tested more times than I can remember and I am telling you, this is going to work. Would I really lead you astray?
So gather the chocolate and the eggs and let's get baking.


Flourless Chocolate Cake:


Ingredients :
150 g butter plus extra for greasing
300 gm dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50 gm caster sugar
5 eggs, separated

1. Pre heat the oven to a 180 C. Start with greasing an 8 inch loose bottomed/ spring form tin. Line the base with butter paper and butter the sides.
2. Place the butter and chocolate over a pan of simmering water and leave until just melted, making sure to stir every now and then. Let it cool.
3. In a clean bowl, using a hand held beater, whisk the egg whites and half the sugar till the egg whites form stiff peaks, or till you can hold the bowl upside down over your head and the egg whites don't come crashing down on you.
4. In another bowl, whisk the yolks and the remaining sugar and beat till pale and thick. Fold in the melted chocolate and butter and mix well.
5. Gently fold in the whisked egg whites with a spatula and pour the batter into the prepared tin.
6. Bake the cake for about 20 -25 mins or until the cake leaves the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool for at least 30 mins before taking it out of the tin.