Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes 4-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cake 3.7 (1,091) 57 Reviews This dessert is rich yet light, and so easy to make. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 1, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Prep Time: 20 mins Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Servings: 8 Who can resist flourless chocolate cake? Made with just four ingredients—unsalted butter, bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, eggs, and granulated sugar—this dessert is not to be missed. It’s rich and chocolaty, but also light—not dense like many flourless cakes. Being flourless also means it’s perfect for Passover, but most of all, it’s sure to delight any chocolate lover. Whether you make it for a birthday or to enjoy as a dessert on Valentine's Day, this flourless chocolate cake is guaranteed to be a sweet way to end any meal. Jason Donnelly 20 Chocolate Dessert Recipes That Will Satisfy Your Cravings What Is Flourless Chocolate Cake? As its name suggests, a flourless chocolate cake does not contain flour and is chocolate flavored. Beyond that, variations are possible: some flourless chocolate cakes are made with ground nuts, often walnuts or almonds, similar to Austrian tortes, others are simply made with butter, chocolate, eggs, and sugar. Our flourless chocolate cake is a little different: it does not contain nuts, and the eggs are used separately—the yolks added to the melted butter and chocolate mixture. The whites are whipped like meringue and gently folded into the chocolate mixture. The whipped egg whites give this flourless chocolate cake a light-as-air texture, quite different to the many dense ones. Why Ingredients Are Important This flourless chocolate cake has a short ingredient list and each one is essential. Because there are so few ingredients, it’s important to use good quality ingredients, especially when it comes to the chocolate. The Chocolate This cake can be made with either bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, but the chocolate should be good quality. Do not use cheap chocolate or baking chocolate for this recipe because it will not taste as good. Similarly, do not use chocolate chips because they have added stabilizers to make sure they keep their shape in baking, that is not what is needed for flourless chocolate cake. Ingredients 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 6 large eggs, separating yolks and egg whites ½ cup granulated sugar Confectioners' sugar, for dusting Sweetened whipped cream, for serving Directions Jason Donnelly Preheat oven, prep pan; melt butter and chocolate: Preheat the oven to 275°F with the rack in the center. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly. Jason Donnelly Add egg yolks: Whisk in egg yolks. Jason Donnelly Beat egg whites: In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Jason Donnelly Add granulated sugar: Gradually add granulated sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Jason Donnelly Add whipped egg whites: Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then gently fold in remaining egg whites. Jason Donnelly Transfer batter to pan: Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Jason Donnelly Cool: Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan. Jason Donnelly Serve: Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Jason Donnelly Frequently Asked Questions How is a flourless chocolate cake different to a molten chocolate cake? Both flourless chocolate cake and chocolate lava cakes are dense, delicious chocolate desserts, but the way they are made is quite different. Each contains similar ingredients, however the proportions of the ingredients are different and flourless chocolate cake has fewer ingredients, but usually more eggs. Another difference is generally molten chocolate cakes are individual desserts that are cakey on the outside with a center of flowing warm dark chocolate and are served warm. Flourless chocolate cake is usually one large dessert and has the same fudgy, rich texture throughout and is served at room temperature How do you get flourless cake out of the pan? To get a flourless cake out of the pan, we always use a springform pan when making flourless cake. It’s two-part design means the sides can be opened and removed then the cake lifted off the bottom. Why did my flourless cake not rise? A flourless cake generally does not rise high like a regular cake made with flour, leaveners, and eggs. They will rise a little during baking, then sink a little when they come out of the oven. Other Flourless Cake Recipes to Try: Flourless Chocolate-Date Cake Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Torte Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake Passover Chocolate-Walnut Cake With Orange Originally appeared: Everyday Food, January/February 2004 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.