Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache is made with only four ingredients plus berries to create an easy yet impressive dessert. This cake is naturally gluten free and contains no added sugar but is subtly sweet and delicious!

a fork taking a bite out of a slice of flourless chocolate cake

Flourless chocolate cake is rich, fudgy, and delicious. Add chocolate ganache and it’s a chocolate lovers dream. This impressive dessert requires only four ingredients – chocolate, butter, eggs and heavy cream. Add some fresh berries and it’s a beautiful dessert worth sharing.

Make this cake for a birthday, Valentine’s Day or even a dinner party. It comes together relatively easily and creates a delectable dessert that everyone loves.

It tastes like a giant chocolate truffle! Serve it with an impressive dinner like Steak and Lobster Surf and Turf!

Ingredients You Need

ingredients for flourless chocolate cake on counter

It is not recommended to substitute any ingredients in this cake. The ingredients for this recipe work well to create a simple chocolate cake made without flour. Each ingredient helps yield the best texture and flavor.

Raspberries make the best garnish for this cake, but you can also use sliced strawberries or blueberries.

Steps to Make Flourless Chocolate Cake

mixing together butter with chocolate in bowl
  • Step 1: Whisk the eggs. It is best to do this with an electric mixer.
  • Step 2: Beat until the eggs foam.
  • Step 3: Prepare a double boiler with the chocolate and butter. You can use a heatproof bowl set over a pan of water.
  • Step 4: Stir until smooth and warm.
  • Step 5: Fold the eggs into the chocolate in three additions.
adding cake mixture to pan for baking
  • Step 6: Prepare a springform pan.
  • Step 8: Pour the batter into the pan and bake.
  • Step 9: Prepare the chocolate for the ganache.
  • Step 10: Heat the heavy cream.
  • Step 11: Mix together the heavy cream and chocolate.
  • Step 12: Let the ganache sit to thicken slightly.
mixing together ingredients for chocolate ganache in bowl

Once the cake is baked and the ganache is ready, pour the ganache over the top of your cake.

Garnish the cake with fresh raspberries and enjoy!

cake before and after chocolate ganache

Storage

Store the cake at room temperature for up to 2 days or 5 days in the refrigerator.

Expert Tips

  • Use a good quality chocolate. Ghirardelli or Guittard are two good brands to use. Hu Chocolate and Lilys Baking Chocolate are also good refined sugar free brands.
  • Bittersweet chocolate will result in a richer flavor, while semisweet chocolate is more sweet.
  • The longer you allow the ganache to sit at room temperature, the more it will thicken. Allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes for the perfect pouring consistency. It should spread easily over the cake.
  • You can prep this cake up to 12 hours in advance of serving.

Cake without Ganache: You can serve this cake without the ganache. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and whipped cream or on its own.

a slice of cake sitting on a plate

This flourless chocolate cake is rich, fudgy and completely irresistible. Gather a few ingredients, make it and let us know what you think!

Easy Chocolate Desserts

Did you make this flourless chocolate cake recipe? Leave a recipe rating and review below!

a fork taking a bite out of a slice of flourless chocolate cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Yield: 16 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Chilling Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours 5 minutes
This cake is made with only four ingredients to create a fudgy dessert everyone loves!
5 from 14 votes

Ingredients 

For the cake:

  • 8 large eggs, cold
  • 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter,, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

For the chocolate ganache:

  • 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

To make the cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut out a 8-inch round piece of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. Butter the parchment and sides of the pan. Cover pan underneath and along sides with sheet of heavy-duty foil and set in large roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to boil.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat eggs at medium-high speed until volume doubles, about 5 minutes. (At this point eggs will start to be slightly foamy)
  • Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over pan of simmering water, until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice.
  • Fold 1/3 of egg foam into chocolate mixture using large rubber spatula until only a few streaks of egg are visible; fold in half of remaining foam, then last of remaining foam, until mixture is combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared springform pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour enough boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan. Bake until cake has risen slightly, edges are just beginning to set, a thin glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on surface, and an instant read thermometer inserted halfway through center of cake registers 140 degrees, 22 to 25 minutes.
  • Remove cake pan from water bath and set on wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
  • Remove springform pan sides, invert cake on a sheet of wax paper, remove parchment liner and turn cake right side up on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

To make the ganache:

  • Add the chocolate chips to a small heatproof bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Let sit undisturbed for 8 minutes.
  • Stir the chocolate chips together with the heavy cream until smooth. Let ganache sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes until it reaches a good consistency for pouring over the cake (it should be a little thicker but still pourable).
  • Pour ganache over the top of your cake. Garnish with raspberries, as desired. Enjoy!

Notes

The cake part of this recipe was barely adapted from Cook’s Illustrated. The ganache is created by Spoonful of Flavor.
STORAGE
Store the cake at room temperature for up to 2 days or 5 days in the refrigerator.
You can prep this cake up to 12 hours in advance. If storing in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Nutrition

Serving: 0g, Calories: 425kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 22g, Cholesterol: 135mg, Sodium: 56mg, Potassium: 295mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 706IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 86mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Ashley C.
If you try this recipe, don’t forget to leave a review below or share a photo and tag @spoonfulofflavor on Instagram.

This post originally published in 2014. It was updated with new photos and tips in February 2021.

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