My brothers’ idea of cooking is generally limited to frying an egg, warming up a ready-made meal or cooking pasta, so imagine my surprise when they offered to bake my birthday cake last month!
The afternoon I spent with my brothers in the kitchen was full of laughter, bashing, melting, stirring, licking spoons (OK, bowls!) and resulted in an awful lot of mess, but it was really worth it. I loved their chocolate cake so much I decided to tweak the recipe and bake it at home.
I have made three batches so far in the past couple of weeks and the moreish cake is quickly becoming a favourite in our house. It contains no wheat, gluten or baking powder and it tastes heavenly.
The whisked egg whites act as the raising agent, and powdered pecan nuts replace flour in this recipe.
This moelleux is rich, moist and incredibly decadent! I find it perfect served mid-afternoon with a cup of coffee. You can enjoy it as it is, warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or at room temperature, covered in chocolate ganache.
Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup dark chocolate 200g, chopped
- 2/3 cup butter 150g
- 5 medium free-range eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar 170g
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup pecan nuts 150g, powdered
Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 cup good-quality dark chocolate 150g, grated or finely chopped in a blender
- ½ cup full-fat double cream 120 ml
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to gas mark 4 (180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and line a rectangular (18x25cm) cake tin with greased baking paper.
- In a small pan, gently melt the butter and dark chocolate over a medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Leave the mixture to cool for ten minutes.
- Separate the eggs into two large bowls.
- Mix the egg yolks and sugar vigorously until you reach a pale creamy consistency.
- In the other bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks start to form.
- Add the melted chocolate and ground pecan nuts to the egg and sugar mixture. Mix well and gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula.
- Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and place on the middle shelf of the oven for fifty-five minutes. It should be firm to the touch, and the blade of a knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for fifteen minutes. Turn it onto a wire rack.
- Grate the chocolate or give it a minute in a blender to make sure it is chopped as finely as possible and reserve in a large bowl.
- In the meantime, make the chocolate ganache. Place the cream and golden syrup in a small pan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and whisk, starting at the centre of the bowl and gradually stirring it all together until smooth and silky.
- If you serve the cake with warm ganache, it will be scrumptious and gooey.
- For firm ganache, use the chocolate mixture to ice the cake and place it in the fridge for about fifteen minutes.
My children love spending time in the kitchen. They enjoy cooking, messing up or creating their own recipes. Crevette (6 years 6 months) and Beanie (4 years 4 months) were really keen when I suggested baking something funny for Red Nose Day (13 March 2015).
Very little effort was required to turn our cake into the cute hedgehog below. We cut the cake into an oval shape and covered it in ganache. Using a fork, we made lines on the hedgehog’s body, added chocolate buttons and candy eyeballs.
What’s your favourite kind of cake?
Thanks for the inspiration Mel, your flourless cake looks scrummy.
I could not stop eating it the other day. I mbuy more pecan nuts tomorrow so I can make it again!
Oh wow the cake sounds amazing (but sadly I couldn’t eat it!) You also look amazing honey, totally rocking that apron! I’ll be joining you for the bake off for sure as will be making a birthday cake for my little lady’s birthday on Tuesday xxx
Yay, make sure you take some pictures of the cake or baking process (all shall be revealed on Tuesday!). Happy birthday to the little lady! xxx
This looks lovely!! x
Thanks. It really is decadent!
Oh my days that looks incredible. All the more so as I’m working hard on losing a few lbs at the moment so really shouldn’t eat it 😉 x
Granted, it might not be the kind of thing you are looking for at the moment, but if it is put in front of you, it would be hard to resist! It is naughty but oh so nice!
This looks yummy (and the hedgehog version is cuuuuute).
I’ve only cooked with ground almonds but I love pecans so it’s something I really want to try now.
I also use ground almonds in place of flour quite a lot, but pecans really bring in a different dimension and make the cake moist and almost gooey without being too rich.
Le gâteau de ton frère à l’air excelle et j’aime beaucoup la déco en forme d’hérisson, c’est excellent !
Quelle bonne surprise te voir avec ton beau tablier ! So fun 😉
Il est joli mon tablier, non? Franchement ce gateau est un délice, qu’on le mange froid ou tiède. x
Haha! Love that pic of you at the end <3
This looks FANTASTIC 🙂
Thanks lovely. It is yummy!
I have to make that cake, it looks so yummy! #TastyTuesdays
It is incredibly yummy (and addictive!).
Oh how brilliant! I think I’m going to treat myself to an apron too-love it! xx
Lovely, isn’t it?
This looks yummy! Quick question, is it possible to make it without the pecan nuts, my hubby is allergic but he would love this and just wondering if the lack of pecans will have a bit effect on the overall taste xx
Hi my lovely, sorry for not replying to your comment earlier. I wanted to attempt something for you. I made the cake with plain flour on Friday. It was nice, but definitely not as moist as with the nuts. I remember making a chocolate fondant cake when I was a teenagers. No nuts there. I will have to find it so I can share it!
Ooh these really do look totally decadent and love the gluten free alternative to such a rich cake. That apron is delightful!
Thank you. I love the fact it is quite flattering, too (rarely the case with aprons!).
That chocolate cake looks so wonderfully moist!
It is! I am making it again later.
It looks lovely, I am never a fan of nuts in cake though which is a shame as this cake looks as squidgy as I love!!!!!
Laura @ Life with Baby Kicks
I tried making it with flour earlier this week, but it is a tad dry…
Oh wow! This looks and sounds heavenly x #tastytuesdays
Thanks Kirsty!
this looks so delish!
It really is!
Looks so yummy. Chocolate cakes are my favorite!
You would love this one: quick to make, rich, moist…
That’s a stunner, we made a similar one recently ingredients wise and also as fairy cakes too, love the hedgehog, just gorgeous. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuedays x
Do you have a link to yours lovely? A few people have asked for a substitute for the nuts and I guess yours is nut-free. x
wow this looks utterly scrummy and the hedgehog brings back memories of a hedgehog cake I made as a teenager for my sister’s birthday cake #recipeoftheweek
I made one when I was at nursery school… brought back lots of memories!
I’m so intimidated by making cakes, but this looks too good not to try! Thanks for sharing 🙂
If my brothers can make it, anyone can!
I’ve never tried a full flourless cake before. Love the idea of the pecans rather than the almonds. I bet the flavour is great. The hedgehog is adorable too. Love the apron too. I really need to get a new one for me. I’m once again outdressed by my son!
This cake is incredible. You can’t tell it contains no flour and the pecans make it even more moist than almonds would.
Seriously? That is just not fair!!! It looks incredible. I want a slice right this minute!!!!!! You and your brothers are amazing 😉
You are too kind my lovely!
Love the hedgehog, reminds me of a cake I had as a kid! #freefromfridays
I made one at school, too! I could not remember how we had made it look like a hedgehog then (I was 4 or 5), so we improvised.
Thanks for adding your fabulous, fun cake to #FoodYearLinkup. I’m loving seeing all of your Comic Relief cakes, it looks as though you’ve been having so much fun with the little ones.
We really have… and we are already planning our next one!