For those of us who don’t celebrate Passover, it’s a mystery.
We know it’s a major Jewish holiday. We’re pretty sure it’s a happy one. We think it goes on for a few days.
But more than that – as I said, mystery.
Oh, and one more thing: certain foods are forbidden. Like flour. And leavening, as in yeast, baking powder, baking soda…
Now, for those of us who bake, that makes Passover a pretty challenging occasion, culinarily speaking.
Start with “no flour.” OUCH. How many baked goods can YOU think of that don’t include flour? A fruit-filled meringue pavlova is one. Lemon soufflé is another. And then there’s…. hmmm…
You can find recipes using matzoh meal in place of flour. Or variations on the meringue theme, incorporating chocolate chips, nuts, and other tasty add-ins.
And then there are the recipes where ground nuts stand in for the flour (which works in a low-flour, high-sugar, high-fat, high-egg recipe, such as brownies). But most sound a little forced. Like, too bad we can’t use flour, but we’ll substitute x-y-z instead and it’ll be pretty good.
At the end of the day, there’s one flourless dessert that was born to be flourless. A special treat that doesn’t require compromise, doesn’t need the “almost as good as” label. And that’s Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Chocolate, sugar, eggs, and butter. Salt and – if your Passover dietary laws allow it – vanilla and espresso powder. These simple ingredients create magic together, the alchemy of eggs and sugar providing structure, the vanilla and espresso and salt adding flavor, and the chocolate lending its own special qualities: a bit of structure, sumptuous mouth-feel, and the undefined yet intensely compelling quality we all love: CHOCOLATE.
Serve this dense, rich, flourless/unleavened cake at Passover, where it’s the perfect finale to the Seder. But don’t relegate it to once-a-year status. Although it doesn’t have King Arthur Flour’s favorite ingredient, it’s still one of our favorite desserts.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Put 1 cup (170g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips and 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. You can also do this over a burner set at very low heat. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.
Can you tell this is going to be one rich cake?
Stir in the following:
3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Espresso enhances chocolate's flavor much as vanilla does; using 1 teaspoon will simply enhance the flavor, while 2 teaspoons will lend a hint of mocha to the cake.
Add 3 large eggs, beating briefly until smooth. Finally, add 1/2 cup (43g) cocoa powder, and mix just to combine.
Grease an 8” round cake pan, and line it with parchment. Cut it to size by laying the pan atop the parchment, drawing a circle around it with a marking pen, then cutting it out. Lay the parchment in the pan, and grease the parchment.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will form a thin crust, and it'll puff up nicely.
Remove the cake from the oven; it should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into its center.
This cake is actually a bit over-baked; I should have lowered the temperature a couple of minutes, because I was using a darker (dark gray) pan.
A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it; again, this is slightly over-baked, as evidenced by the paucity of crumbs.
Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then loosen the edges with a table knife or nylon spreader, and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that's fine. Also, the edges may crumble a bit, which is also fine.
Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing. When ready to glaze, slip strips of parchment under the edges of the cake, to catch any drips.
To make the icing/ganache, heat 1 cup (170g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup (113g) heavy cream together until the cream is steaming. Remove from the heat, and stir until the mixture comes together.
Keep stirring; don't give up. All of a sudden, you'll have beautifully smooth, creamy chocolate icing, a.k.a. chocolate ganache.
Immediately pour the ganache over the cake.
Isn't that beautiful?
Spread the ganache to the edges of the cake, encouraging it to drip down the sides. It doesn't need much encouragement once you push it to the edge.
Once the ganache sets, gently pull away the strips of parchment; you'll be happy at how neat and clean your plate looks.
For cleanest slicing, use a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry. Repeat dipping knife in hot water and wiping dry for each slice.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream; or just as it is, in all its chocolate-y splendor.
If you're celebrating Passover, I hope you enjoy a lovely family celebration. If not – well, go ahead and enjoy this cake anyway!
Read, bake, and review (please) our recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake.
For more chocolate-filled indulgences, check out our collection of Best Chocolate Recipes.
April 7, 2024 at 1:22pm
I have made this cake many times, exactly as written. I’d like to bake it in an 8” square pan instead of a round one. Area of the round pan is about 50 sq”, vs 64 sq” for the square one. Since the pan is about one third larger, can I just increase the ingredients by a third? And add a little more baking time? BTW, cake is fabulous and always turns out perfect. Thank you!
April 7, 2024 at 3:45pm
In reply to I have made this cake many… by Jane (not verified)
Hi Jane. You have the right idea here! We may recommend increasing the size by 25% though (that is a bit closer to the size difference). You may have to add a touch more time, but we would recommend checking it at the current recommendation in the recipe since every oven bakes so differently. Continue baking until it reaches at least 200 degrees F in the very center.
December 17, 2022 at 4:11pm
Hi, I accidentally bought bittersweet chips. Is that going to be too dark?
December 19, 2022 at 10:31am
In reply to Hi, I accidentally bought… by Maddie (not verified)
Hi Maddie, bittersweet chocolate chips will work just fine in this recipe!
August 31, 2021 at 3:24pm
I replaced 1/2 chips with stevia chips and used “Rx sugar” ( sugar free) instead of standard sugar. It is wonderful. Yes, diabetics must still be careful, but it’s duable. Next I’ll attempt no sugar.
September 28, 2020 at 10:32pm
The cake part came out fine, but I couldn’t get the ganache to be smooth. It ended up with oil separating out. I even tried starting it over with new chips and cream. Any idea what I might have done wrong?
October 5, 2020 at 9:56am
In reply to The cake part came out fine,… by Karen (not verified)
We're sorry to hear that you had some trouble with the ganache, Karen! It sounds like the emulsion broke, causing the chocolate to separate. This can happen if the chocolate is heated too high or if it's over-worked. Next time, I'd recommend heating the cream on the stove until there are foamy bubbles around the edges but don't let it come to quite a rapid simmer, then pour the cream over the chocolate (in a heatproof bowl) and let it rest for 3 to 5 minutes before stirring. After this short rest, start stirring in small circles in the center, gradually increasing outwards until everything is well combined and the ganache is smooth. We hope this helps for future baking adventures!
August 14, 2020 at 9:06pm
Here in Pandemicville, couldn't find a store that delivers that had espresso powder. Used 1/3 espresso chocolate chips, 1/3 deep dark chocolate chips, and 1/3 semi sweet chips. Don't know how it compares to the original recipe, but tasted doggone good.
June 7, 2020 at 3:21pm
I'm wondering abut using the cake wraps around the outside of the cake pan for baking? Would that solve the sinking in the middle/ gooey in the center/crispy edges problem?
June 7, 2020 at 3:42pm
In reply to I'm wondering abut using the… by CynDee Aerts (not verified)
Hi CynDee, cake strips help cakes bake more evenly, particularly in dark cake pans which bake hotter than light-colored ones, as they insulate the edges so the middle has more of a chance to bake before the edges dry out. So it's definitely worth trying.
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