Decadent and Delicious Flourless Chocolate Cake for Valentine’s Day – a rich, decadent chocolate cake, made with just seven ingredients: the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert.
This may be a flourless dessert, but you don’t need to be gluten-free to enjoy this cake! Nope. This delicious and decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake is for any kind of chocolate lover! Made with only seven ingredients, this fudgy cake is not only easy to make, it’s also incredibly delicious.
New Year, New Plan
As I was planning my cakes a couple of years ago, I set out to include a few untraditional cakes. And by “untraditional,” I mean, untraditional for me. I love making layered cakes, but there are so many other types of cakes out there and I feel like I was doing you a disservice not featuring them. Of course, layered cakes are still what you’ll mostly see around here, but I love sprinkling in other desserts on occasion. And now, you’ll see a few other types of cakes every once in a while too!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
First up on my “untraditional” Cake by Courtney cake list was a Flourless Chocolate Cake. I’ve always loved a simple flourless chocolate cake and February felt like the perfect time to create my own. I mean, can you think of a more perfect Valentine’s dessert!?
What is Flourless Chocolate Cake?
As I researched flourless chocolate cakes, I noticed nearly every recipe used the same seven ingredients: water, sugar, chocolate, butter, eggs, vanilla, and salt. The difference between recipes was just the amount of each ingredient the author used.
I also noticed that the majority of recipes use a cake “bath.” You may have seen this technique in my Creme Brûlée Cake with the custard layer. By placing your cake pan in a bath of water while it bakes, you add moisture to your oven. The added moisture ensures your cake doesn’t crack too much (which tends to happen to a flourless cake since there are no flour or leavening agents). The water bath also helps ensure that you get an even, steady bake. Since we don’t use any flour or leavening agents in this cake, the slow, steady bake will help the cake to rise evenly. You’ll also notice that without flour and leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, the cake may settle and sink a little bit after you remove it from the oven. Don’t stress. That’s normal.
Another quick note about this cake – it’s a great one to make ahead of time. In fact, I think it’s best to make it the day before you want to serve it. You’ll just cover the cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
Raspberry Sauce
With a dark, decadent chocolate cake, I wanted to compliment it with a couple of additional elements to help balance all the richness. The first is a simple raspberry sauce made with frozen raspberries, sugar, and corn starch. You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator.
Whipped Crème Fraîche
So with the bittersweet chocolate and sweet raspberry sauce, I felt like the missing flavor element was something tangy. Crème fraîche is a favorite of mine. Have you used it before? It’s something I learned about from Ryan’s parents. Ryan’s dad has used in it whipped cream for years. I love the tangy element it adds to a rich dessert like a chocolate pie, chocolate lava cakes, and this Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Crème fraîche is a soured cream that reminds me of mascarpone and cream cheese actually. If you can’t find crème fraîche, mascarpone would be my second choice in this whipped cream. Cream cheese doesn’t quite work as a substitute because it’s much denser than mascarpone and crème fraîche.
Can’t wait for you to dig into this Decadent and Delicious Flourless Chocolate Cake for Valentine’s Day! Follow me on Instagram @cakebycourtney for more tips and recipes on all things cake!
More Valentine’s Desserts You’ll Love
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1/2 cup (115 g) water
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 12 tbsp (170 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
- 18 ounces (510 g) dark chocolate
- 7 large eggs
- 1 tsp. (4 g) vanilla
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM
- 2 cups (462 g) heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz. (227 g) creme fraiche
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 1 tsp. (4 g) vanilla extract
FOR THE RASPBERRY SAUCE
- 10 oz. (283 g) frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsps. (4 g) corn starch
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spray one 8-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray again and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, add the water, sugar and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure the sugar dissolves completely.
- While the water mixture boils, combine the chocolate chips and butter in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Pour the hot water mixture over the chocolate chips and butter. Stir until the chocolate and butter are melted and create a silky, smooth texture. Let cool for about 10 minutes before you add the eggs. We don't want to cook the eggs!
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix well. No beating required, just mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Place the 8-inch cake pan in a larger baking dish. Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the oven and then pour hot water into the larger baking disk to create a "bath" for the cake. You need enough water to go half way up the side of the 8-inch cake pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.
- Don't be alarmed if the cake rises and then sinks slightly. Remember, there's no flour or leavening agents in this cake. A little sink is normal.
- Remove the cake pan from the baking dish, and allow the cake to cool for one hour at room temperature, then cover it with plastic wrap at refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in the crème fraîche. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to use.
FOR THE RASPBERRY SAUCE
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the raspberries, sugar and corn starch. Cook over medium heat until the raspberries soften and release juices.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Puree the mixture until smooth and then strain. Return the mixture to a low heat and cook for another 5 minutes to thicken a bit more.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
ASSEMBLY
- There's actually not much to assemble, but I did want to mention that I dusted some cocoa powder over the top of the cake before serving.
- Also, as I mentioned earlier, this is a great cake to make ahead of time and is best served a little cold.
Has anyone tried adding some instant espresso to the water mixture?
OH MY GOSH!! Made the Flourless Chocolate Cake today. I made it exactly as the recipe is written and it is FABULOUS! It’s like eating the creamiest, most decadent piece of fudge. Or the thickest, creamiest pudding that is like cake. I’ve made other flourless cakes that were very good too, but this one….absolutely the best of the best!! This was my first Cake by Courtney cake I have ever made, and it did not disappoint. Looking forward to making more. Thank you Courtney!!
This was so nice to hear! Thank you!
Could I sub milk chocolate for this?
Yummy
What kind of chocolate did you use?
Usually Ghirardelli!
Excellent recipe, a rich and decadent chocolate cake. I made it for a friend that is gluten intolerant. She loved it, and so did everyone else.
Thank -you
So happy you loved it!
Absolutely delicious recipe! I used a less sugar than suggested but other than the recipe is spot on. Don’t skip on the raspberry sauce and cream on the side. That elevates the flourless cake to a different level. Definitely making this for our next guests!! Thanks!!
Easy and delicious recipe! Made it on the weekend and it was a hit! Raspberry sauce was a perfect addition. I put a pan of hot water on the shelf under my cake in the oven when baking because my springform tin started leaking when in the water bath. Any suggestions of how to prevent this?
Looks delicious! I would love to make mini individual cakes – do you have a recommended cooking time if I were to fill individual ramekins? How do I know when the cake is done in the oven? Thank you!
I haven’t made this recipe as individual cakes, but it should work. For the bake time, I’d maybe start with 15-20 minutes and then just keep your eye on them. The bake time will increase with the number of ramekins you put in the oven. The cake shouldn’t be jiggly when it’s done.
I made this cake this evening, and followed the recipe exactly. Mine made more “batter” than would fit in the pan. I filled it to the top. How much space should we leave in the pan? Mine cooked into a shape a bit like a mushroom… also any additional detail you can provide for knowing when it’s done? I’m doing a test run before my Valentines Day dinner party. Thx!
You can definitely use a 9-inch pan if that gives you a little more space. Without flour or a leavening agent, it shouldn’t rise too much and will be pretty dense. As it gets close to the end of baking, give the pan a little jiggle. You don’t want it wiggle in the center.
I plan to make this decadent dessert but need some details about the Ghiradelli chocolate needed. Do I buy a bar of dark chocolate baking chocolate (as opposed to semisweet)? Do I then chop the bar into small pieces. At one point in the directions, I thought you referred to chocolate chips, but the word chips wasn’t in the recipe. I just want this cake to be as perfect as it sounds!
You can use a bar or chips – just use good quality like Ghiradelli or Guittard or a similar brand. I suggest using a bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate. Either will work beautifully with this cake.