Flourless Chocolate Cakes: Tips & Techniques

[Redsugar]

When preparing eggless versions of these tortes, it is advantageous not to allow the butter to melt and become oily while mixing it into the flour. For such a version, I have most commonly used these proportions to produce a three-layer product:

4 cups flour; 12 oz. butter; 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate; 2 fl. oz. water; 2 tsp. salt.

Then, a ganache to fill: 1 qt. heavy cream; 1½ lbs. bittersweet chocolate.

Finished with powdered sugar, chocolate curls, seasonal fruit purées.

Chocolate-and-orange duets are perhaps second only to raspberry in terms of delivering a high-caliber impact. Seductively representative of this pairing is a sauce comprising 1/2 lb. Cocoa Barry milk-chocolate orange, 12 fl. oz. heavy cream, and 4 fl. oz. light-corn syrup. Some readers will succumb unhesitatingly to an orange-caramel suace accompaniment. (There are many food pairings that are suitable; but there are others that are undeniably inevitable.)

A long-time preferred separated-egg version:

10 large eggs; 14 Tbsps superfine sugar; 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate; 2 cups finely chopped, lightly toasted pecans (Brazil nuts are an interesting alternative). Served with flavored crème anglais.

Flourless renditions of chocolate roulades, chocolate sponge sheets, and chocolate pudding cakes are splendid to plate as well.

To broaden your baking, styling, and gustatory experience with these tortes, please look up….

Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Cake w/ Milk-Chocolate Drizzle (Chocolate Passion by Boyle & Moriarty)

The Rose Pistola Chocolate Budino Cake, essentially simplified for inclusion in Anya von Bremzen's The Greatest Dishes! Around the World in 80 Recipes. (2004)

Chestnut Chocolate Cake aka "Turniois," (such as offered in Jacques Pépin’s Complete Techniques, pp. 789ff.)

Mary Lou Simmelink’s (who, btw, no longer works as a pastry chef, but as a feng shui consultant!) contribution to Baking with Julia: Boca Negra with White Chocolate Cream.

Edited January 27, 2005 by Redsugar (log)

[ludja]

Long time no see Redsuger.

Thanks for the nice post. Funny you should mention the Rose Pistola budino--I had that there once w/prune armagnac ice cream and it was wonderful!

I've been looking for a good chocolate budino recipe since then.

[Swisskaese]

Long time no see Redsuger.

Thanks for the nice post.  Funny you should mention the Rose Pistola budino--I had that there once w/prune armagnac ice cream and it was wonderful!

I've been looking for a good chocolate budino recipe since then.

←

Here is the recipe for Rose Pistola's Chocolate Budino

[ludja]

Thanks swisskaese...

I almost forgot about one of my favorite flourless cake recipes... it's quite different from the ones you think of right off the bat.

It's called Ibarra Chocolate Cake , (after Ibarra Mexican Chocolate).

The cookbook I got it from ascribes it to the Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe.

It's very special; the cake consists of ground almonds, minced orange peel, grated bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon... (and eggs and sugar).

The warm cake is soaked w/a Grand Marnier syrup; then covered with a dark chocolate glaze.

I've posted the link to it somewhere else before. Anyway, the neat thing is that the grated chocolate stays kind of discrete from the almong and orange peel-- they're all about the same size. The texture is very interesting and the flavor combination is pretty exciting.

Edited January 28, 2005 by ludja (log)

[jackal10]

Following Heston Blumenthal I think you get a a deeper chocolate flavour if you omit the egg yolks and use only the whites:

240gm/8oz Dark Chocolate

140gm/5 oz Butter

240gm/8 oz egg white

Melt the chocolate and butter together, beat the egg white, fold in, bake.

This is a universal recipe: don't bake for mouse, use also fo roulade etc

Don't beat the egg white for molten chocolate cake, nemensis, tart etc

[bakerboy]

Flourless chocolate cake always goes over so well. I use RLB"s version from the cake bible. I do not like to whip the whites separately and fold in because i've found that the cake wants to souffle, only for the top to form a crust and separate from the cake leaving a broken looking crust on top. Maybe its me but i never liked that look. I've also never added sugar. never found a reason to. Adding sugar and/or whipping the whites separately, along with baking in a dry or too hot oven seems to contribute to that crust formation on top. I've always baked mine in a water bath around 300F just until the eggs set. If mine comes out perfectly it looks like a well baked chocolate cheesecake: No cracks, no raised edges, and no crust.

As far as flavor additions go, i've only ever added a bit of cognac because i think it accentuates the chocolate and thats whats on stage here.

i worked at a bakery where the flourless chocolate cakes were made whipping the whites separately, adding alot of sugar, and baked in a rack oven 350F (sans bain marie). Man, were they crumpled looking, but the owner liked the broken "rustic" look...and they seem to sell well. So there ya go.

Has anyone tried baking this cake sous vide? It seems like this cake would lend itself well to this method of cooking.

[aidensnd2]

In the RLB recipe it says to cover the cake after 5 minutes with buttered foil. I'm assuming that she means to cover the pan and not actually place the foil on top of the cake, correct? Just thought I'd double check.

THanks

[Wendy DeBord]

In the RLB recipe it says to cover the cake after 5 minutes with buttered foil. I'm assuming that she means to cover the pan and not actually place the foil on top of the cake, correct? Just thought I'd double check.

THanks

←

Your correct, place the foil over the top of the pan to sort of steam it and keep the heat in (the cake won't be at the top of the pan, so it won't stick). I place a baking sheet on top of mine since I use a convection oven, otherwise foil does blow around alot.

[chiantiglace]

Francois Payard:

-8 oz/227 g bittersweet chocolate (coarsely chopped_

-4 oz/113 g uns. butter

-3.25 oz/92 g egg yolks

-3 oz/85 g sugar

-3 oz/85 g egg whites

1)Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2)line half sheet pan with parchment and lightly butter

3) melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler

4) whip yolks and 1 oz sugar to ribbon stage

5) fold in chocolate mixture

6)whisk egg whites and remaining sugar to stiff peaks

7) fold into yolk/chocolate mixture

8) Fill prepared pan and bake for 7-9 minutes.

this recipe calls for cutting and portioning in molds so its just as easy to prepare in 1 or 2 cake pans whatever size desired, just adjust temp and time.

[Wendy DeBord]

I've always admired Payards work/recipes. Where was that one published Chantiglace?...........I missed it.

[chiantiglace]

Grand Finales "the art of the plated dessert"

By Tish Boyle, and Timothy Moriarty.

Page 16.

[Wendy DeBord]

Wonderful, I'd definately give that a try. Thank-you Chiantiglace!

[chiantiglace]

Anytime.

[bakezoid]

Flourless Chocolate Cake from Ann Hodgman's Beat This! She attributes it to Lora Brody's Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet. I make it every year for Passover and everyone loves it.

[Ling]

Is it possible to freeze a flourless chocolate cake? I would like to keep a piece for 5 days. Should I just keep it well-wrapped in the fridge?

[aidensnd2]

Is it possible to freeze a flourless chocolate cake? I would like to keep a piece for 5 days. Should I just keep it well-wrapped in the fridge?

←

It will easily last that long well wrapped in the fridge.

[Ling]

thanks!

[chiantiglace]

Since this was brought back up, how about i post a few more recipes for thought....

Flourless Chocolate Cake (CIA-Baking and Pastry)

Makes 6 cakes:

eggs-3 lb/1.36 kg

egg yolks-1 lb 2 oz/510 g

granulated sugar-1 lb 6 oz/624 g

Semisweet Choc.(Melted)-3 lb 12 oz/1.7kg

Salt-1/2 oz/14 g

vanilla extract-1 fl oz/30 mL

Heavy cream-64 fl oz/1.92 L

Confectioners sugar

1) line 6 9 inch cake pans with parchment

2) Whisk together eggs, yolks, and sugar over a double boiler until temp reaches 110segreesF/43degreesC

3) Transfer to an electric mixer and add chocolate, salt and vanilla; whip on medium until cool

4)Whip heavy cream to medium peaks; fold in egg mixture in 2 additions

5) Scale 2lb batter in each pan; bake in water bath at 400F/204C for 25 minutes or until center forms a crust

[chiantiglace]

Flourless Chocolate Cake, Martin Howard:

7.8 oz/221 g egg yolks

2 tbs/30 mL vanilla extract

10 oz/283 g bittersweet chocolate, melted

12.6 oz/357 g egg whites

9 oz/255 g granulated sugar

-1/4 tsp/1.25 g salt

1) Whisk yolks, vanilla and chocolate until combined

2) Beat whites to soft peaks; Add sugar and salt and whip until stiff

3) Fold yolks into whites

4) Divide batter onto 2 buttered and floured half sheet pans; Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until it just springs back from edges

[chiantiglace]

You guys aren't scaed of almonds right?

Martin Howard:

Almond Flour Chocolate Cake:

-2.75 oz uns. Butter, softened

-2 oz sugar

-1.95 oz egg yolks

-2 oz almond flour

-4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-3.15 oz egg whites, whipped to soft peaks

1) Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg yolks until combined; blend in almond flour, vanilla and chocolate

2) Fold in egg whites.

3) Bake on a parchment lined half sheet pan at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

[chiantiglace]

Pat Coston:

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

-1 lb semisweet chocolate

-8 oz uns. Butter

-17.5 eggs, separated

-4.5 oz sugar, divided

1) Melt chocolate and butter

2) Beat egg yolks and 4 oz sugar until pale and doubled in volume; fold in chocolate

3) Whip whites with the remaining sugar to soft peaks, fold in chocolate

4) Spread onto parchment lined sheet pan and bake at 375degrees for 10-15 minutes

[aidensnd2]

The first one I tried was the RLB recipe and it was so good that I haven't gotten around to trying anything else yet...

[Ling]

I had the privilege of eating the RLB cake yesterday night (and walked away with 3 leftover pieces!) because *Deborah* made it for our potluck dinner. It is insanely good! I only wish bakeries here would start making cakes of that quality so I could buy a slice whenever I had a hankering for something so rich and chocolate-y!

[ldubois2]

Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate adapted by me from an adaptation by Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini from Trish Deseine:

7 ounces (200 grams) best-quality dark chocolate (Callebaut, or Scharffen Berger)

7 ounces (200 grams) unsalted butter

1 rounded cup (250 grams) granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 rounded Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 C. and butter an 8-inch, parchment-lined, round cake pan.

Chop the chocolate and melt it with the butter cut into small pieces in a double boiler or in the microwave (I use the microwave). Once melted, add the sugar, blend thoroughly and set aside to cool slightly. Add eggs individually, mixing each one in before adding the next. Finally add the rounded tablespoon of flour. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, release from pan and place on a rack to cool. This cake is better if made a day ahead or in the morning of the day you plan to serve. Serve at room temperature with a sweetened whipped cream.

I did the conversion from Metric to US measurements....they are rough but seem to work. Depending on your oven the cake may be firm or not in the center. It does not seem to matter, I have had both results with the same temp and time. I complete the entire prep for this cake in the same bowl...so not only is it good, but the clean up is minimal.

Edited February 23, 2005 by ldubois2 (log)

[chiantiglace]

"flourless"