The Best Almond Flour Chocolate Cake (Gluten-Free)
This gluten free chocolate almond cake is my go-to, everyday cake. It comes together in under an hour and is the kind of thing I can whip up on a weekday as a special treat (think: Mid-week birthdays! Valentine’s Day! School celebrations!). It’s rich and chocolatey, with a texture that lands between a classic cake and a fudgy brownie. Almond flour and dark chocolate give the cake its opulence, but since it doesn’t contain any oil, the cake is surprisingly light. For the best flavor, use a good quality chocolate with a 70% cocoa content. It can be served on its own or you can dress it up with whipped cream and berries (or, try it with this easy strawberry sauce). To give it black forest vibes, serve the cake with Amaretto-soaked cherries—get the recipe in this newsletter.
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
- Cooking spray butter or oil, for pan
- 5 ounces (142g) dark chocolate (preferably 70% cacao content), coarsely chopped (1 cup chopped), plus more for shaving
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup (133g) natural cane sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 cup (100g) almond flour, whisked to remove any lumps
For serving (optional)
- Fresh berries and/or whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Generously grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper and grease the paper.
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave it in 15-30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted (alternatively, melt the chocolate on the stovetop in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water or in a double boiler). Let it cool for five minutes.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or using hand beaters), combine the eggs and sugar. Beat on high until light in color and doubled in volume, about 2 to 3 minutes (this is an important step, as there are no other leavening agents in the cake). Mix in the salt and vanilla. With the machine running on medium, slowly pour in the chocolate. Stop and scrape down the sides (the batter will have speckles of chocolate, which is okay), then add the almond flour. Mix on low until just combined. Give the batter one more fold with a rubber spatula to incorporate any flour on the sides.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread the top in an even layer. Bake for 24-26 minutes, or until the top looks dry and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with few damp crumbs (the toothpick shouldn’t come out clean—err on the side of under-baking). Set the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Run a thin knife or small off-set spatula around the edge of the pan, then invert the cake to remove it from the pan. Peel off the parchment, then invert the cake back on the rack, top side up, and let it cool completely. Cut the cake into slices, and serve it on its own, or with fresh berries and whipped cream.
Notes
Do Ahead: The cake can be made 1 day in advance. Cover it with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature.
Tips:
- There are no leaveners in this cake aside from the eggs, so it’s important to beat them thoroughly with the sugar, until they double in volume and turn light in color (a full 2 to 3 minutes). I use my stand mixer for this so that I don’t have to stand there with beaters, but you could use hand beaters instead. Once the batter is ready to go, get it into the pan and into the oven without dally, as you don’t want the air bubbles to all deflate.
- I couldn’t live without my kitchen scale, as it makes baking a hundred times easier (no messing with measuring cups!). It also makes baking much more precise and foolproof, as the weights of different flours can vary drastically according to how they’re measured - especially almond flour! If you don’t have a scale (get one! j/k, kind of), then you’ll want to lightly pack the almond flour in the measuring cup for this recipe.
- Almond flour tends to clump up, so it’s important to whisk it before adding it to the batter to break up any lumps. I actually like to get in there with my fingers to break up the lumps.
- This cake gets baked in a 9-inch springform pan, but if you don't have one you can use a regular cake pan. Be sure to transfer the batter to the pan and pop it in the oven without procrastinating (the only leavening in the cake comes from the beaten eggs).
- The cake will sink slightly after it comes out of the oven, and that’s okay! That sinkage is going to give the cake a richer texture.
- While I usually eat this cake simply with powdered sugar or whipped cream, go ahead and turn it into a frosted cake if you prefer!! It’s outrageously delicious with the chocolate whipped cream frosting from this chocolate quinoa cake recipe.
Loved this recipe? Check out @nickisizemore for more!