I’m one of those rare souls born without a lusty attraction to chocolate. I’m not saying I don’t like chocolate, I’m just saying it better darn well be worth it. So I look for recipes that elevate the ingredient into something especially heavenly. This Flourless Chocolate Cake is darn well worth it and deserves all the fervor and longing my heart can muster.
The secret to success in this Flourless Chocolate Cake with Toasted Almond and Coconut is getting the texture just right. The edges and top develop a crisp crust while the center remains moist and fudgy. It’s this gooey texture that makes this flourless chocolate cake so seductive to those of us born without the chocolate gene.
Here are a few tips that should make your flourless chocolate cake as lusty as possible:
- If you’ve never baked with coconut oil, be prepared for a revelation. It comes in a jar and is the consistency of Crisco. It’s a good vegetable fat and the best replacement for butter in baking that I know.
- Don’t use the microwave to melt the chocolate and coconut oil. It’s hard to control the heat and part of the success depends on not overheating the chocolate mixture; it should be just warm enough to melt. If it’s too hot, the egg will curdle when added.
- Use a high-quality chocolate– whichever brand you prefer.
- Don’t use chocolate chips in this cake. Most are designed to retain their shape when baking, so use them only when appropriate.
- Dark chocolate in percentages well over 70% may be all the rage, but they don’t work well in every recipe. Ganaches, certain frostings and even this flourless chocolate cake will simply not have the texture you are looking for if you use too dark a chocolate. Choose something more traditional in the 50% and 70% range. Remember baking is as much science as it is art.
- You can make this flourless chocolate cake in one 8 or 9‑inch pan or two 6‑inch pans. It’s easier to get the right texture if you use two pans in my opinion. The smaller cakes cook quicker, and I like the ratio of cake to goo. But I’ve had good results either way.
GREG
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried coconut flakes
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- unsalted butter (as needed for pans)
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for dustiing pans)
- ½ cup coconut oil (plus 1 tablespoon for frosting)
- 12 ounce 60% chocolate (chopped and divided)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup almond flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill, or grind your own in a food processor)
Directions
Toast the toppings: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread coconut flakes and sliced almonds on a parchment-lined baking pan in as single layer and bake in preheated oven until lightly browned; 5 to 8 minutes. After a few minutes stir the mixture and rotate the pan to help ensure even color. Watch them closely, sweetened flakes will take less time to brown than unsweetened. Remove the pan from the oven then slide the parchment onto the counter to keep the mixture from getting too dark. Set aside. Leave the oven on.
Make the cake(s): Butter one 8 or 9‑inch cake pan or two 6‑inch cake pans. Line the bottom(s) with a parchment round cut to size; butter the parchment and dust lightly but thoroughly with cocoa.
Melt ½ cup coconut oil and 8 ounces chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Turn off heat; whisk in sugar until well incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth. Whisk in cocoa, vanilla, and salt; gently fold in the ground almond flour. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan(s). Tap the pans gently to spread the batter evenly and to remove any trapped air.
Bake until barely set; about 25 to 35 minutes for a 8 or 9‑inch pan or slightly less for two 6‑inch pans. The size, color, thickness and material of your cake pans play a huge role in cooking time, so watch the cake closely. I do the “clean toothpick” test about 2‑inches in from the edge on a 8 or 9‑inch cake and about 1‑inch in for a 6‑inch version.
Once set to your liking, remove from oven and let the cake(s) cool completely (or up to overnight) in the pan(s) on a rack. Run a knife around the edge to loosen; gently remove from pan placing the cake(s) topside up onto serving plate(s).
Meanwhile make the frosting: Melt the remaining 4 ounces chocolate and 1 tablespoon coconut oil over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Spread the the frosting onto the top(s) only of the cake(s) in a thick, rustic manner. Sprinkle toasted coconut and almonds in the center(s). Cut into wedges; serve.
I do love chocolate, but somehow, I always find myself cooking or baking more fruit-centric desserts. This cake looks awesome though! I have yet to try baking with coconut oil. Need to give this a try.
Now I am the kind of person who gets excited about chocolate and this is just the kind I dream about!
I’m not sure I lust after chocolate, but it’s pretty close! Although I’ve never been attracted to those high percentage cacao chocolates — they’re rather flat and one dimensional, IMO. If it was a choice only between that and milk chocolate, I’d actually take milk chocolate! Fortunately we have plenty of good choices in the middle. I definitely need to get on the coconut oil bandwagon — I must be the last kid on the block not to try it! Good recipe — thanks.
Love love love baking with coconut oil! I’ve gone and replaced all the butter with coc oil in my fave choc chip cookie recipe in a recent post and have a ton of quickbreads, other cookies, muffins, etc with it. In the fall with pumpkin, I made a ton of vegan quickbreads with coc oil + pumpkin but I dont think I’ve ever made a chocolate-based cake with it. Wow. This looks like a little slice of heaven! So rich and perfect!
With these ingredients this cake will be soooooo delicious. You got my mouth watering.…. I shared it around and will be making it soon.
I was born with the chocolate gene. Both sides of the family have it. 😉 That said, I’m very particular about my chocolate and I know I would LOVE this cake!
I’m totally with you! I like chocolate but I don’t LOVE chocolate…so I’d always prefer to eat other flavors over it. Unless it’s really CHOCOLATE chocolate. Like this cake. YES.
Lucky me, I was looking for a LUSTY chocolate cake today. As you know I recently discovered the wonders of cooking with coconut oil, so all I can say is.….. amen brother!
This cake was almost your chocolate pound cake. But the gluten police stepped in and changed my plans. GREG
Well this certainly sounds wonderful. I have never used coconut oil, so I will have to give it a go. Thanks for the push,
Funny, but when the rage struck for higher percentage chocolates, it passed me right by. I find the higher percentage chocolate too dry tasting, not sweet enough and overly smoky for me. I have never been a chocolate fiend. While most of America, given the chance, will opt for a chocolate dessert, I always go for either the lemon or vanilla menu selection. Go ahead, call me a contrarian. I feel as you do; if I’m going to have chocolate, it had better be awfully good. I think this one fits the bill.
About substituting higher percentage chocolates in our older recipes — those treasures from the eighties that called for say, 54% chocolate — depending on just how high the percentage is that one wishes to substitute, one must (usually) make some pretty significant adjustments. Interestingly, an exception to this rule is the class of cakes known as “flourless.” They are pretty flexible, overall.
Generally you can change, ounce for ounce, 60%, for lesser percentages, but once one moves to using 62% and greater, one must begin decreasing the amount of chocolate. Further, as one progresses up the % scale, one must add extra sugar and butter (or fat) to the recipe. I always feel badly for the cook who spends lots of money on premium ingredients only to have, say, a ganache seize up and be utterly unusable due to an imbalance between the moisture and fat called for in the recipe.
Thanks for the info Adri! GREG
I am not in on the gluten-free trend bu chocolate cake is one of the few instances where I get REAL excited to see the word “flourless”.
I’m in Greg. It reminds me of Caprese cake which is made with ground almonds and olive oil. All need is the coconut and the almond topping and a view from the California coast thrown in for good measure…but not necessary.
Surprised to see you didn’t separate the eggs and do more of a souffle-type cake with folding the yolk/chocolate mixture into the beaten whites. That also gives a thin crispy thin crust and gooey center but much more work and stress — and mess. I will definitely try your version. I love that your recipes and simple and still so good! And I agree about the cocoa content; 56% — 64% is always just dark enough for cakes and ganache.
Separating the eggs and using the whites as “leavening” does produce a more souffle like cake. I like density of this version. More like a gooey brownie. GREG
Your best advice. No chocolate chips. I“m with you though. It has to be WORTH IT. This is.
I love the coconut oil in this Greg! I am definitely a chocolate lover, but appreciate recipes like this so much!
Lovely looking cake! Did you run out of pecans and swap in the almonds?I imagine walnuts would be nice too.
Oops. Typo. Fixed. XOGREG
Guess we both had chocolate on our minds this week…although I also lack as you say, a’ lusty attraction’ to chocolate, and really to most things sweet..but every once in a while. Adding this cake to the list.
Dang! I knew I was going to offend someone with my comment on flourless chocolate cakes! Just wish it hadn’t been you! And, if you look at C&L, you will see that I posted on one not long ago… I even made myself ubiquitous! Your version looks really good and the additional topping ingredients will give it much more texture and flavor. I haven’t tried coconut oil yet and I really should — not sure what has held me back. And I am so glad to hear you say keep the percentage of cacao between 50 and 70%. I made a flourless cake with something in the 80% range and it was pretty awful…
I’m not offended! I’m laughing… GREG