Flourless Chocolate Cake
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
Yield: 14 individual cakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
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
I’ve had so many wonderful desserts! My granny was a great baker. She taught me how to bake, and passed on her pie making secrets to me. I’d have to say her fresh cherry cream pie is my home-cooked favorite. I had a key lime cupcake at a local cupcakery that I can’t sot thinking about, so that is probably the best take-out dessert.
best dessert…..my grandmas apricot cobbler or her rhubarb pie…..she had a beautiful apricot tree and a big rhubarb patch….
My favorite desert was banana pudding made with vanilla wafers. Brings back the best memories of my child hood.
Deborah-
Yum, one of mine too! Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie
The best desert I’ve ever tasted was a Chocolate and Passion Fruit Parfait the last time I went to Brazil.
The mix of chocolate and passion fruit is just amazing! It mixes the delicious and refined taste of chocolate with the tropical savor of passion fruit! Superb!
Unforgettable taste! The chef gave me the recipe and it is so easy to make!
P.S.: Congrats for your website, I’m a straight guy who lives by himself and who loves cooking. Your website has helped me and taught me amazing things! Thank you so much!
The best desert I’ve ever tasted was a Chocolate and Passion Fruit Parfait the last time I went to Brazil.
The mix of chocolate and passion fruit is just amazing! It mixes the delicious and refined taste of chocolate with the tropical savor of passion fruit! Superb!
Unforgettable taste! The chef gave me the recipe and it is so easy to make!
P.S.: Congrats for your website, I’m a single guy at college, who lives by himself and who loves cooking. Your website has helped me and taught me amazing things! Thank you so much!
Bruno-
That sounds amazing! Thank you so much for stopping by and for following MBA! Have a fantastic day!
-Jamie
Wondering if the flourless chocolate cake can be made in round cake pans or as a sheet cake?
Leslie, you could certainly try. The recipe is written specifically from a book that separates desserts out into jars, so I can’t speak to how that would turn out, or if the yield would be enough for a sheet cake. Experiment though! Don’t be afraid to do that.
– Jamie
Along the same lines, do you think this recipe would work well as a cupcake? My cousin and her family are all gluten free and we are having a birthday party for my son that they will be attending. I want her kids to be able to have cupcakes with everyone else without me having to go nuts buying specialty ingredients.
Janell-
You should be able to use the same recipe for cupcakes but you will likely need to adjust the cooking time.
-Jamie
My mother in law’s no bake lemon cheesecake.
Anything chocolate, dark chocolate. One favorite is a rolled pound type cake with chocolate inside! But the jars, I love the jars, I have so many canning jars, use them for lots of stuff.
The best dessert I like is an Indian sweet – LADOO. It is yellow in colour and melts in the mouth
My best dessert I ever had was a hot chocolate chip cookie orrrrr a hot brownie/chocolate cake with some vanilla ice cream in top and whipped cream!!! The hot and cold!!! The vanilla and chocolate!! Like having cookies and cream! Love it
Anything dark chocolate! This flourless cake recipe definitely sounds like a keeper. And in little jars? Perfect portion control!
Susan-
Thanks so much for stopping by! And, the portions help…until you eat two or three :). Have a great day!
-Jamie
Made these tonight. They where awesome. Only thing is next time I’ll cut back on the sugar maybe 3/4cup. But other than that this is a keeper. Thanks
I made a flourless chocolate cake for Father’s Day, using a recipe posted on “skinney tastes”. Can’ wait to try your recipe! It is my families favorite dessert now! Yours looks wonderful!
My favorite desert is a pie inspired by a Hawaiian tropic after tanning lotion called lime coolada , it is a pina colada- key lime pie, that I created, because nobody else wanted to tackle it.
Loooooove Sticky Toffee pudding!
My Mom always made the most delicious lane cake, once a year, around the holidays.
Best dessert ever would have to be lemon squares tarts goodness!♡
This recipe reminds me of one of my favorite desserts,Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Wedge! Chocolate truffle cake with a delicious raspberry sauce!
Ghiradelli stuffed brownies! The caramel infuses through the whole brownie!
My favorite dessert is Kentucky Derby Pie.
The best dessert I’ve had is the Bread Pudding with Hot Whiskey Sauce in New Orleans, LA. My husband and I were staying at the Hyatt Regency and we ate at the restaurant in their open courtyard area. Wherever we have traveled, I will try the bread pudding and none have come close to what I ate at the Regency. It was cut like a slice of pie and it was very dense.
Best dessert ever…hmm…that is a real tough one! Crème brûleé? Brownies with ice cream? My most memorable one for sure was homemade raspberry sorbet made with freshly picked raspberries in Alsace, France when I was 16.
One of the most memorable desserts I’ve had was a tall, thick slice of a flourless torte from a small, Italian restaurant I ate at years ago. I’ve even dreamed about it because its rich flavor and dense texture made it a rare moment of decadence. Also can’t wait to try your recipe!
My all time fav dessert is creme brûlée. I have never tasted one I didn’t enjoy.
The best dessert I’ve ever had was the sweet and salty chocolate cake from Baked bakery. So delicious!!
Best dessert is a toss up between my wedding cake with fondant and sugar coated champagne grapes or ginger spice cookies. Both made by one of my aunts.
Oh, how does one choose a favorite dessert? Anything chocolate but lemon bars and key lime pie are at the top also. I’m a dessert addict but have never made flourless chocolate cake. It’s on my list to try!
Fall is my favorite season and my favorite dessert goes right along with it. Pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce!
Olallieberry pie with vanilla bean ice cream!
That sounds wonderful. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
My homemade cinnamon buns with a buttery butterscotch whiskey sauce are mind blowing! I bet I could get them in a jar!
Great idea!
-Jamie
My favorite dessert is fresh lemon cupcakes with a fresh lemon buttercream garnished with a little sugared lemon zest. I tweeked a basic recipe and added my own touches…they are delish!!!
So glad they were a success! Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Best dessert?? So hard to answer. But I think those made with lots of love are best, like my friend’s lemon semi-freddo that she made my daughter for her birthday, or the lime buttermilk panna cotta made by a friend for her husband’s 50th birthday dinner party. Guess the trend for me is citrus!
I love citrus desserts too, thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Favorite recipe is one my mom and I got from a chef in Florida. It’s a flourless chocolate espresso torte it’s so good!!!! It’s our go to dessert. :0)
Sounds wonderful, thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
My absolute favorite dessert is My TIRAMISU! So lite, airy and delicious. It takes quite a while to prepare but well worth the effort. My question is 4 or 5 tbsp of mixture in an 8 ounce glass? It dosen’t seem like much batter. In the link for the jars the largest jar is 5.6 ounces. I’m confused. Thank you.
My favorite dessert was my grandmother’s icebox cake. It was an angel food cake, layered with chocolate pudding in a spring mold. After properly setting up, it was served with heaping spoonsful of whipping cream. Incredible. My mother hoards the recipe and inserts red herrings into the recipes she does share with us. The results are less than satisfactory.
Your grandmother’s icebox cake sounds wonderful. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
My mother’s old fashion fudge… Hands down ..the very best! Miss that every year now.
Old fashioned fudge is the best! Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
This looks so delicious and mouth watering. Made without flour too? This is heaven!
Matse-
Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Jamie
I made this today – it was wonderful! This was the first time I had made a ‘flourless’ cake, and I was skeptical that the texture would be similar to a ‘flour’ cake. I was pleasantly surprised that the texture is very similar to a cake made with flour – very decadent! Thanks for this great recipe.
Claire-
I’m so glad you had success with the recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Flourless Chocolate Cakes are so yammy, great website for baking i really enjoy visiting
Cupcake Recipes-
Thanks for visiting.
-Jamie
Hi, is it possible to prep these in advance into the jars, refridgerate and cook before serving? Or suggestions how to warm up before serving? Hoping to bake these tonight :) Thanks!
Hannah-
I would recommend mixing these just before baking. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
Has anyone tried to adapt this to sugar free by substituting Stevia?
Adorable. Delicious. I must make these li’l cuties!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to give them a go… Just started a baking blog and looking at ways of creating different ideas… Your blog has given be inspiration! Thanks so much!
Evie :)
Thanks so much, Evie! :)
-Jamie
I just tried your flourless choc cake in jars need to know it was crispy on top n like very soft inside like a jelly type . Was it suppose to be like that or did I go wrong some where
Hi, Angel! The cake should be like a dense brownie. Maybe bake for a bit longer? Let me know the outcome if you give it another try!
I love Weck jars and I’m looking forward to trying this. I have the same Weck Mini Mold Jars #976, which are 5.6 oz. The recipe calls for 8 oz jars. Did you put less than 4-5 tablespoons of batter per jar? I want mine to look like your great photos–full but not overflowing!
Hi, Lisa! You should definitely put less than four to five tablespoons. Try three and go from there. Let me know how everything turns out!