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If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember me posting a piece of flourless chocolate cake while dining at The Capital Grille. After one bite, I was smitten with the rich, dense espresso infused chocolate cake.

When Shaina’s debut cookbook, Desserts in Jars arrived on my doorstep, I immediately honed in on page 35 – Flourless Chocolate Cakes, beautifully photographed in my favorite Weck jars. Shaina described her Flourless Chocolate Cakes as little brownies with crunchy tops and that’s exactly what they taste like. Pure chocolate perfection in an adorable glass jar.

[pinit] In you visit MBA on a regular basis, you know how much I love baking and presenting desserts in jars, so naturally, I was incredibly excited about Shaina’s cookbook. Desserts in Jars contains 50 gorgeous recipes including cakes, pies, puddings, frozen desserts and even a variety of mixes that are perfect for giving.


Shaina expertly walks you through the process of choosing, filling, baking and even adorning your jars with printable tags, so they’re ready for a casual backyard barbecue or a fancy holiday party. And after hanging out with Shaina in NYC, I must say, Desserts in Jars is an accurate representation of the awesomeness that is Shaina.

Flourless Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients:

Oil for greasing the jars
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons (½ stick)unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
fresh raspberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease fourteen 8-ounce jars. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

2. In a stand mixer, beat together the granulated sugar and egg yolks until thick and creamy. Mix ¼ cup of the melted chocolate and butter into the egg yolks. Continuing to mix, slowly pour the remaining melted chocolate mixture into the egg yolks until all is incorporated. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

3. Spoon 4 to 5 tablespoons of the cake batter into each greased jar. Place the jars 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops of the cakes start to crack. Remove from the oven and let the jars cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, garnish with fresh raspberries.

Notes:

- This recipe works well when cut in half.
- Jars seen in the photos are Weck Mini Mold Jars #976-165

Source: Desserts in Jars by Shaina Olmanson

All images and text ©

Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!

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474 Comments

  1. Tessa Ann says:

    The best dessert I’ve ever had was a BEAUTIFUL key lime creme brulee. It was eaten off the plate of someone else, because they couldn’t finish it, and I’m generally too cheap to buy desserts at restaurants(as much as I adore them).
    It was creamy and tangy and lovely. It had a little pile of beautifully ripe raspberries on top. It looked as wonderful as it tasted, which made it even better for me, I love good presentation.
    Oh my. I miss it.

  2. Jackie Watson says:

    Several years ago my sister made me Tiramisu for my birthday and it was the best dessert ever!

  3. Lynne says:

    The best dessert I ever had we’re the chocolate truffles at my friend Kathy’s wedding. It was over 20 years ago, but I still remember them!

  4. Martha says:

    I found a recipe over at Epicurious for a Chocolate Panna Cotta Cake. Deep chocolate layers of cake with creamy smooth chocolate panna cotta between the layers wrapped in a thin layer of chocolate. Just a sliver of this perfection is enough to satisfy the most ardent chocaholic.

  5. Sarah says:

    Our wedding cake – the baker was difficult to work with but her cake made it worth it.

  6. Jamie says:

    Chocolate ganache cake with raspberry sauce drizzled over the cake and plate. Beautiful and delicious!

  7. Eva @ Eva Bakes says:

    The best dessert I’ve ever had is the molten chocolate lava cake at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley.

  8. Gigi says:

    Mm, I think the best dessert I ever had was at the Grand Cafe in Minneapolis. It was key lime pots de creme with homemade graham crackers. Delicious!!

  9. Allison says:

    The best dessert I’ve ever had was this Japanese cheesecake that my friend made! So light, fluffy, and perfectly cheesy – not too cake-y!

  10. Missie Petersen says:

    I would have to day the best dessert that I have ever had was the Banana Cream Pie at Emeril’s in New Orleans. It was absolutely wonderful.