![World’s Best Chocolate Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/02/11/dining/YO-Worlds-Best-Chocolate-Cake/merlin_201014523_439c5c9d-7702-43e1-b121-eb3c93665e1f-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Chocolate and Almond Tiger Cake
![Chocolate and Almond Tiger Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/02/06/dining/06EAT-tiger-cake1/06EAT-tiger-cake1-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 5tablespoons/70 grams unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
- ½cup/65 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
- ½teaspoon baking powder
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅔cup/70 grams almond flour
- 6large egg whites, at room temperature and lightly whisked
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5ounces/142 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ⅓cup/80 milliliters heavy cream
- 3ounces/85 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ½cup/48 grams sliced almonds, toasted
For the Cake
For the Topping (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and fit a circle of parchment paper at the base.
- Step 2
Bring the butter just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn off the heat and leave the saucepan on the burner to keep the butter warm while you make the cake batter.
- Step 3
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until thoroughly blended. Add the almond flour and whisk. If the almond flour is lumpy, use your fingers to break up the clumps. Switch to a spatula and add the egg whites in 3 additions, stirring until the batter is smooth and easily flows off the spatula. Stir in the vanilla until incorporated. Add the butter in 3 additions, folding until it is completely incorporated and you’ve got a smooth batter with a light sheen. Stir in the chopped chocolate, mixing well. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.
- Step 4
Bake until golden brown, evenly risen and pulling away from the sides of the pan, 37 to 40 minutes. A tester inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and leave for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the sides of the pan, flip the cake over, remove the pan, peel away the parchment and invert the cake onto another rack. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving or covering with ganache.
- Step 5
If you’d like, make the topping: Put the cream in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Gently stir the chocolate and cream together until blended, thick and shiny. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula or kitchen knife to spread it across the cake. Scatter over the toasted almonds. Either leave the cake on the counter to allow the ganache to set a bit (it will never be really firm) or refrigerate the cake for 15 minutes to set the chocolate. The cake is best at room temperature. Covered, it will keep for about 3 days at room temperature.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Anyone use three whole eggs rather than six egg whites? What about you, Dorie? How different could it be? I'm inclined to try it...
Lightly whisk means enough to break them up, but not so much that you're aerating them in any significant way.
Absolutely delicious and easy. I did not make the topping . I dusted the serving plates lightly with cocoa powder and powdered sugar.
@Paul Joseph, I haven't tried this recipe yet but, typically you cannot substitute whole eggs for whites. It's the science of baking. Both yolks and whites contain a significant amount of water, but the whites are albumin protein with no fat, and the yolks contain protein and fat (about 32%) which would change the chemistry of the formula. Save the yolks to enrich an egg dish or make a custard or a curd with them. Two desserts! Win-win.
I had some leftover ganache in the fridge, and leftover egg whites in the freezer, so the recipe spoke to me. It was simply wonderful! I might consider adding some almond extract to this the next time I make it. I love that flavor profile. I didn't do any whisking of the egg whites (forgot), but I don't think it affected the outcome. One caveat: I used a wax paper round , buttered & floured , in the pan, which is my usual habit. I had a little trouble removing the wax paper. It stuck a bit.
What does "lightly whisk" mean? Soft peaks?
Truly delicious. Made twice. First with almonds, then pistachios. It's superb with ground pistachios. Used normal salted pistachios, which we shelled, ground in a high-power blender (have to stir up the un-ground nuts a few times) with the sugar, then sieved. It's only a small hassle. Also, second time, used chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped in a food processor until sizes of sesame-seed to peppercorns. Baked as 6 muffins (24 minutes at 375°) super-convection oven.
Maybe making it completely as the recipe called for would improve it.
For those of you interested in sweets baked in mini muffin pans, Dorie had a recipe for Tiger Tea Cakes in "Paris Sweets" many years ago. She repeated the recipe, somewhat modified, in "Baking Chez Moi." I've been baking them in mini muffin pans for many years, and always get rave reviews. I dip half in ganache and leave half plain. They're delicious both ways. This recipe, which I haven't baked yet, has significantly different ratios of butter to eggs to almond flour, and I'll have to try it.
I just made this for the second time. Just a couple of changes elevated this recipe from very good to fabulous. First, I added a tsp of almond extract. The other key element is to make sure that the finely chopped chocolate does not include any of the powder since this greatly affects the consistency and the color of the cake. That said, the pieces need to be small enough not to sink to the bottom but do not include the powder. Instead use the powder as part of the measurement for the ganache.
Can we use egg whites from a carton?
Hi Zelda (and all others asking about making this recipe GF)- first forgive me for not exactly addressing the issue of using all almond flour. May I suggest an alternative? It would be to use GF flour in place of wheat flour (rather than using all almond flour). I have had particularly good results using King Arthur Flour's "Measure for Measure" GF flour as a substitute in recipes like this, when it is not 100% wheat flour-based (since a fair amount of the "flour" is almond). Good luck!
Could you make this with all almond flour (gluten-free? )
The only note I’d add is that I toasted the sliced almonds in about a half Tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring til lightly browned. Delicious little cake that I’ll definitely add to my repertoire!
it was dry and flavorless because you reduced the sugar. Adding orange zest or extract will change the flavor only. I recommend making a recipe exactly as written before decreasing or increasing major ingredients. Try it again as written.
First time I made this cake it seemed a bit over cooked, 2nd time I checked at 30 mins. And it was perfect! It is a delicious cake that comes together quickly. I brushed the cake with dark rum and wow was it good. Served to a crowd twice now to raves and requests for recipes. Love it. Not too sweet, even with the chocolate topping. By the way, out of cream so used whole milk and a bit of full fat sour cream, the tang was delicious.
My cake is only an inch tall. It’s more like a big fat cookie. What did I do wrong?
I liked it! Great use of egg whites after making a custard! The whites give the cake a different texture that is a nice change.
Perfect! Not too sweet; sweetness from rich topping. Mixed the dry ingredients in the blender and chopped the chocolate using the pulse button on the Cuisinart to get small chunks. Very easy and quick.
Can a springform pan be used instead of regular cake pan?
Easy and delicious recipe! I used browned butter and cut back on the sugar by a couple tablespoons. I skipped the ganache.
easy, and tasty
I’ve made this cake several times for dinner parties. I follow the recipe and it gets rave reviews every time. So easy to do ahead so you can focus on other dishes. I especially like that it is so delicious but still light - I’ve had guests ask for a second piece at more than one dinner. One of my favorites!
This cake is simply delicious. I did not change a thing, and it turns out great at high altitude. This is my go-to recipe when asked to bring a dessert. I make it gluten-free by using GF flour in place of the wheat flour.
My absolute favorite light chocolate dessert - a never - fail recipe: always works and never fails to impress. Those wanting a too-sweet, sticky mess of a cake: find something else. This is delicate, not crumbly, Parisian.
Excellent and super-easy to make. I served it without the ganache for an afternoon tea.
Has anyone frozen this cake?
I have macadamia nuts and they sub perfectly for almond flour. Just grind in food processor. Instead of mixing chocolate I sprinkle onto layers of batter as I pour it in. I'm trying a loaf pan this time with parchment sling. Came out wonderful.
I just made this and it is absolutely delicious. I made it 100% gluten-free by using Bob's Red Mill GF "1 to 1 Baking Flour" instead of the 1/2 C of regular all-purpose flour called for in the recipe. It baked in about 33 mins and came out of the pan beautifully. The cake texture is great and the slightly chewy sides (where the batter was nearest the sides of the cake pan) are sublime. This recipe is keeper for sure!
Has anyone made this with an egg substitute like either aquafaba or Bob's Red Mill egg replacement?
Advertisement