![Flourless Chocolate Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/02/16/dining/11korex-chocolate/merlin_200212497_081f3ab6-1907-4e1c-aee9-6027e118b9db-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Chocolate Soufflé Cake
![Chocolate Soufflé Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/08/multimedia/03CHOCOLATE-DESSERTS-rex2-chocolate-souffle-cake-fhtk/08CHOCOLATE-DESSERTS-rex2-chocolate-souffle-cake-fhtk-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ¾cup/170 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2cups/300 grams finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (not chips; see Tip), preferably around 70 percent cacao
- 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
- 5large eggs
- 2tablespoons dark rum (optional but tasty)
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional but tasty)
- ¾teaspoon fine salt
- 2teaspoons cocoa powder, to garnish
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, to serve
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Step 2
In a large heat-safe bowl set over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave, melt the butter and chocolate together; stir until smooth.
- Step 3
Add ¼ cup/50 grams of the sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Separate 4 of the eggs and add the yolks and remaining whole egg to the sugar in the stand mixer bowl. (Alternatively, you can use a large bowl and handheld electric mixer.) Beat on medium-high speed until light in color, foamy and about doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. The egg mixture should fall from the whisk in ribbons.
- Step 4
Add the egg mixture to the melted chocolate mixture. Add the rum (if using), vanilla, espresso powder (if using) and salt; fold gently until combined and no streaks remain.
- Step 5
Wash and dry the mixer bowl, add the remaining egg whites and beat on medium-high until foamy. Slowly add the remaining ¾ cup/150 grams sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes.
- Step 6
Add about 1 cup of the egg white mixture to the chocolate mixture and fold until well combined. Add the remaining egg white mixture and fold gently until well combined. Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the top.
- Step 7
Bake the cake until puffed slightly over the edge of the pan and the edges are set but the center is still wobbly, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Step 8
Let the cake cool in the pan set on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, until room temperature or just a tiny bit warm. Carefully run a thin knife or offset spatula around the sides of the pan, then remove the ring. Dust with cocoa powder and serve at room temperature or just slightly warm, with whipped cream or ice cream. Use a warm, clean, dry knife for the tidiest slices. Loosely cover any leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Opt for chopped chocolate bars instead of chips for this recipe, as chips contain stabilizers that will negatively affect the texture of the finished cake.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I have made a similar cake…try Kailua instead of rum. Sometimes I ad cinnamon and cayenne for and extra flavor dimension.
This is similar to Maida Heatter's Chocolate Mousse Torte, which was declared Dessert of the Year in 1979. It was published in the NYT and is in their archives. Pie dish is filled with part of the mousse than baked like a soufflé. When cooled, it sinks and becomes the 'crust'. This is filled with the rest of the mousse which has been chilling. Decorated with whipped film. Oh so chocolate!
I’m confused about the directions In step 4: add egg mixture to chocolate. Shouldn’t you temper the eggs by slowly adding the warm/hot chocolate mixture and whisking the eggs at the same time? Thanks!
To save yourself a bit of washing up, whip the whites first, remove them to another bowl and then, without washing the bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar. The yolks won't mind a bit of egg white or sugar. I've done this and it works like a charm.
It is an old dessert in Italy, many family have they recipe, also mine! NYTC recipe calls for an unnecessary lot of sugar.
Deborah, the eggs won't start to set/curdle until about 140F. If you melt the chocolate and butter slowly enough, and do so before whipping the egg yolk mixture, it should be a reasonable temperature. You can check with a thermometer.
Wonderful cake, beautifully soft and chocolatey on the inside, with the slight crust on the outside. Sugar is just right, not too sweet. Will definitely make again. Bake at 350, no fan, 27 minutes. Serve with rum whipped cream and sour cherries
This is very similar to a Chez Panisse "Pave" and also an Italian torte featured in Saveur. Both use flour and/or almond flour (from 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups). Personally I like the almond flour, which also keeps it gluten free.
This was really easy and fabulous. We added bourbon to the dough and did a bourbon whipped cream and it was a huge hit.
I've been making a version of this cake for years - with a slightly different measure of ingredients - from a 2013 Bon Appetit recipe by Alison Roman. Fallen Cake. It's my go-to flourless choc cake recipe. The cake is baked a few minutes longer and topped with 2T sugar before baking giving the crust nice crackly finish.
@Deborah, the chocolate won’t be hot enough to scramble the eggs, so no tempering necessary!
Bake at 350 F 25 minutes. Can use almond flour
Deborah, the eggs won't start to set/curdle until about 140F. If you melt the chocolate and butter slowly enough, and do so before whipping the egg yolk mixture, it should be a reasonable temperature. You can check with a thermometer.
How did you catch the mouse?
Made this for a family and friends get-together; received rave reviews. My sister-in-law, an accomplished baker, urged me to add it to my regular rotation of chocolate desserts for family parties. Edges rose well above center of cake and broke off when removing cake from pan, so I crumbled them, piled in the center of the cake, dusted with cocoa and surrounded with spoonfuls of softly whipped cream -- made a nice presentation.
Delicious flourless cake, so great for Passover. Messy when sliced but worth it. Serve with whipped cream…maybe some macerated strawberries, too. If any left over, heat slightly and you have a yummy lava cake.
This is bar far the most delicious flourless chocolate cake I’ve made so far. It’s a keeper
A cup of sugar? Wow, that seems excessive which isn’t saying much because traditionally NYTimes recipes have always been sugar excessive.
This is the clear winner of all our gluten-free desserts. We make it every time our group of 4 families gets together — one mom is allergic to wheat — and EVERYBODY loves it. We make it constantly (with rum) and usually serve it with whipped cream. One tip: My husband uses chocolate chips all the time when he runs out of bar chocolate. Despite the warning here, it hasn't changed the texture or taste one whit.
I’d like to make this a day ahead but serve slightly warmed. Anyone try warming it after a day in fridge?
Made this for my husband, who is a chocolate fiend. Absolutely loved it, was licking the plate clean. I suggested he take some cake to work and he gave me a dirty look.
Huge hit. Came out perfectly.
My group thought this cake was way too rich. I'll stick with one of the many other chocolate cakes on the site next time.
I could have cried...yesterday I baked this cake...went perfectly ..New Years Eve 2023 as a dessert for our dinner with friends as I was about to serve it...the bottom fell out of the springform pan and the cake was on the floor....the smell was amazing!...the texture as I cleaned it up was a dream...new year new chances!!!....
I did that with a perfect pear tart a few years back on Thanksgiving. It took me three days to make and I was eight months pregnant, too. The pan separated coming out of the oven and the whole thing landed upside down on the floor. I was unconsolable.
I baked it yesterday...New Years Eve 2023...It fell on the floor as I was about to serve it for dessert....I could have killed myself....but the kitchen smelled lovely...and as cleaned up the mess ...my hands fehlt the amazong texture of the cake.. 2024 brings new changes....Happy New Year
Low sodium folks: I accidentally left out the salt; tasted amazing and everyone raved
why is 300 grams equal to 2 cups? technically it's 1 1/4 cups but 300 grams =10 oz. which is how most chocolate comes before we chop this up... so confusing
Almost too salty… Wants to be served with raspberry jam or another tart berry. No fat in the bowl for egg whites…
Whip the egg whites in your mixer first, place beaten whites in a bowl and set aside. Then, proceed from the top in the dirty bowl…saves on cleanup. Springform definitely preferable otherwise you’re serving out of a beatup old cake pan. Or…can you invert the cake onto a plate??!
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