Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Flourless Chocolate Cakes: Tips & Techniques

Simon Majumdar

By Simon Majumdar
in Pastry & Baking

 Share

Recommended Posts

hensonville

hensonville

Posted
Posted

We often make flourless nut cakes...either with hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds. I grate the nuts on the smallest holes in my processor. I often add the juice and grated rind of an orange. In recent times I bake them in the microwave (Barbara Kafka except that I bake them a little longer.) They are very successful!

torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

I have made the flourless orange cake and it is really wonderful. I was sent the recipe from a friend and since then have been seeing it pop up in a bunch of books I own, including Nigella's, Claudia Roden's and one more book, but I can't remember which one (maybe Donna Hay?)

I have also made the flourless cake from the Best Recipe with good results.

Congratulations on your weight loss!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

jackal10

jackal10

Posted
Posted

There is a whole tradition of flourless cakes in Jewish cooking for Passover (Pesach)

Not quite a cake, but close and simplicity itself, adapted from Mrs Greenberg Cookery Book (1947)

ALMOND SPONGE

Ground Almonds 4oz

Castor Sugar 5 oz

four eggs

Beat the eggs and sugar until very light

Fold in the Almonds

Turn into a greased and lined tin and bake in a SLOW oven (350F/Gas 3/175C) for an hour

  • 1 year later...
merstar

merstar

Posted
Posted

Does it have to be 100% flourless or can it be almost flourless, ie, with a few Tbsp flour? If so, I have a great recipe for a Chocolate Espresso Torte.

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
aidensnd2

aidensnd2

Posted
Posted
Does it have to be 100% flourless or can it be almost flourless, ie, with a few Tbsp flour? If so, I have a great recipe for a Chocolate Espresso Torte.

Flour is not a problem at all.

merstar

merstar

Posted
Posted

Here's the link to the Chocolate Espresso Torte from Fine Cooking Magazine. It's deliciously bittersweet with a great texture, not overly gooey, but still moist, plus it doesn't need to be chilled for it to set. This is one of the few recipes I've followed verbatim. The only thing I did differently the second time I made it was to remove it from the oven when a toothpick came out with a few moist crumbs attached. The first time I followed the directions, ie, removed it when a toothpick came out clean. The torte was great either way.

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00005_rec02.asp

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
Patrick S

Patrick S

Posted
Posted (edited)

If we're including flourless cakes that arent actually flourless, I've had good results with this Chocolate Truffle Cake. If you make it, disregard the recommended cook time of 40-45 minutes. 30 minutes is closer to the mark.

gallery_23736_355_1106575878.jpg

EDITED to fix link.

Edited by Patrick S (log)

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

Wendy DeBord

Wendy DeBord

Posted
Posted

I also use the Oblivion Torte. It appears to me that the River Cafe Chocolate Nemesis is exactly the same method (I don't have the recipes infront of me to compare the weights), I think your getting pretty similar results. They both bake in water baths too, but the RLB recipe only bakes for 15 minutes total where as the RCCN bakes for an hour.

Hum........anyone tasted both of them?

bloviatrix

bloviatrix

Posted
Posted

My "go to" flourless chocolate cake is from Nick Malgieri. I make it with such frequency I can recite it by heart:

1/2 c sugar

1/3 c water

8 ounces butter

12 ounces chocolate (I like 62%)

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons liqueur or vanilla extract.

Make sugar syrup, add chopped chocolate and butter and let melt. Whisk eggs and add liqueur. Add chocolate mixture. Pour into 9 inch round cake pan greased and lined with parchment. Place in 300 oven in a bain marie for about 45 minutes.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

chiantiglace

chiantiglace

Posted
Posted

Chocolate truffle cake batter

-12 oz sweet dark chocolate

-4 oz unsweetened dark choc.

-12 oz butter

-8 whole eggs

-8 egg yolks

-2 oz cornstarch

-20 oz sugar

-1 tbsp orange liqueur.

I've made this a number of times and altered the preperation a little to greatly enhance its consistency.

-Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler.

-Add liqueur

-heat eggs, yolks, cornstarch and sugar over the same double boiler to warm to the touch (so as to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch properly).

-Whisk in th chocolate-butter mixture.

-Pass through a fine seive.

-refrigerate overnight.

-Line metal rings or ramekins with strips of parchment paper

-scoop or pipe batter 2/3 full

-bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

Wendy DeBord

Wendy DeBord

Posted
Posted

I find myself questioning what the perfect flourless chocolate cakes texture should be. I personally like dense overly rich items (but it is hard to eat more then a couple bites), I see customers and other chefs that don't.

I've made flourless c. cakes that ranged from dense moist cakes that are fudge like, to cakes with some actual crumb.

What texture do you think is ideal for this? If you order it out, what are you expecting?

ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted

I actually do prefer *some* crumb to the cake.

One of the nicest 'near' flourless chocolate cakes I've had (and make) is Lindsey Shere's "Rich Chocolate Cake" in Chez Panisse Desserts. It is a very rich cake, with a very deep dark chocolate flavor but it stops short of being fudgy or pudding like in texture. It seems like it is as rich as one can get and stll have a cake like texture. It has some moisture, but is more on the dry side, but very tender.

It has 6 eggs, separated and 3/8 cup cake flour. Also 7 oz semi sweet chocolate, 2 oz bitter chocolate. For sugar therei is 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/8 cup brown sugar. There are also 3 tbs of finely grated almonds and 1 cup plus 2 Tbs butter.

Shere describes this as a synthesis of a number of french recipes for "Gateaux au chocolat".

I see that some of the recipes use separated eggs and some not... What is the texture difference here? I would guess that the non-separated versions would be 'fudgier' in texture?

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

bloviatrix

bloviatrix

Posted
Posted

Blovie describes my flourless chocolate cake as eating a stick of chocolate butter. :shock: YMMV.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

Wendy DeBord

Wendy DeBord

Posted
Posted

My experience so far has been that chocolate flourless cakes with the whites whipped seperate are different then ones using the eggs whole. The whites do lighten the ingredients more then just whipped whole eggs. But if your recipe is really dense- like just chocolate, butter and egg......whipped whites won't turn it into a more cake like cake. It will still be dense and fudgie. Sooooooooo (now that I look back at your question) the answer would be: yes. Sorry

ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted
My experience so far has been that chocolate flourless cakes with the whites whipped seperate are different then ones using the eggs whole. The whites do lighten the ingredients more then just whipped whole eggs. But if your recipe is  really dense- like just chocolate, butter and egg......whipped whites won't turn it into a more cake like cake. It will still be dense and fudgie. Sooooooooo (now that I look back at your question) the answer would be: yes. Sorry

No apologies please! :smile: It's useful to hear these descriptions. I'm pretty picky about chocolate cakes and there are so many recipes to try that it helps to get this kind of info.

I'm intrigued by some of the mocha/expresso creations above...

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

JSkilling

JSkilling

Posted
Posted

I'm with Wendy on the dense, rich, fudgy description. I like recipes that are basically ganache, with the eggs whipped whole not separately and no flour in the recipe at all. I don't like the more mousselike texture you get when you whip the eggs separately.

I always add some Medalio d'Oro instant espresso in to boost the flavor.

Josette

tupac17616

tupac17616

Posted
Posted

A few weeks ago, I made flourless chocolate cake for my mom's birthday from the Gourmet cookbook. I thought it turned out well, and the family definitely loved it, although my dad said it "needed some ice cream", whatever that may mean for the cake, haha :biggrin:

pocketfork
chiantiglace

chiantiglace

Posted
Posted

You know, i don't know why you women like your chocolate rich and fudgy, whenever i make a flourless chocolate torte/cake the women indulge almost as if they are in heaven while men seem to take a couple bites and say "man, that was good, but too much for me".

I myself can't eat it. It might be because im surrounded by chocolate, I don't know but i can't even take a single bite of something so heavy.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

Wendy DeBord

Wendy DeBord

Posted
Posted
You know, i don't know why you women like your chocolate rich and fudgy, whenever i make a flourless chocolate torte/cake the women indulge almost as if they are in heaven while men seem to take a couple bites and say "man, that was good, but too much for me".

You know, now that you've written that, your absolutely right! I've heard the same thing............never added it up in my head.

 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...