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Hi Bold Bakers!
Flourless chocolate cake has always been my favorite dessert — both to make at home and to order in restaurants or bakeries.
Flourless chocolate cake, which is gluten-free to begin with, is made by combining butter, chocolate, eggs, sugar and cocoa powder. My Easy Sugar-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake has been my favorite classic to adapt in a healthier way thus far, as it really is just a few simple swaps away from being a dessert that can be much, much better for you.
Why Use Half Butter, Half Coconut Oil
Typically, this cake starts with a hefty amount of butter. While I really love the flavor and richness that butter adds, I really like to cut down on the butter in this recipe and replace it with a plant-based fat. Coconut oil is a more sustainable source of fat, so it’s a perfect choice. With the combination of butter and coconut oil, you lose absolutely nothing and you still get the same flavor and fudge-like texture — but gain the added nutritional value of coconut oil.
How to Brown Butter
In my recipe, I give you the option to “brown” the butter. I really like to do this, because even though it’s an extra step it really adds a layer of flavor that is unmistakable. If you’ve never had it before, browned butter is caramel-like and nutty, and it further enhances the chocolate in the cake.
To brown the butter, simply allow it to melt over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Once melted, allow it to sit a little longer over low heat until it’s bubbly and golden brown. Your nose will know when the butter is browned, because the smell is super aromatic like toasted nuts. Once browned, you can add the melted butter to the coconut oil and continue on with the recipe as directed.
If you don’t want to brown the butter, that’s totally fine as well!
How to Make A Flourless Chocolate Cake Without the Sugar
Flourless chocolate cake normally includes a fair amount of sugar to sweeten up the cocoa powder. Well, instead of using sugar, I use a monkfruit-based sugar alternative called Lakanto Sugar in my Easy Sugar Free Flourless Chocolate Cake. If you prefer, you can use Swerve, or coconut sugar, but I highly recommend you experiment with some kind of sugar alternative as this recipe is a great one to start with if you’re interested in sugar-free baking.
Why did my flourless cake “fall?”
Since flourless chocolate cake is fudgy and rich, it’s on the flatter side. This cake should be about an inch and a half tall, and if it doesn’t “rise” up a lot that means you are doing nothing wrong! The cake will rise a bit in the baking process and form that iconic crackly crust on top, but it won’t expand all that much. After coming out of the oven the crust will even fall a bit, and give you a further crackle.
This is exactly what you want. I actually think the over all look of my Easy Sugar Free Flourless Chocolate Cake is really sophisticated.
Can You Decorate an Easy Sugar Free Flourless Chocolate Cake?
Flourless chocolate cake is kept really simple when it comes to decoration. Since the cake is so fudgy and decadent, it really needs no frosting or topping. I like to simply dust the top with powdered sugar or cocoa powder, which ever you prefer! I do like to serve the sliced cake with a dollop of whipped cream, though, because the bright white against the dark chocolate is one of my favorite sweet sights to see!
To make a dairy-free whipped cream, I use coconut cream with the solid white cream that rises to the top of a can of coconut milk. All you do to turn this cream into whipped cream is whip it up with a hand or stand mixture into a light fluffy topping. As the fat content of coconut cream is pretty high, though, it can easily melt — so I keep this whipped up in my fridge until it’s time to serve.
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Easy Sugar Free Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4floz/115ml) coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup (4oz/115g) butter, melted, and browned if desired
- 1 1/3 cups (8oz/225g) sugar free chocolate, chopped
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) Lakanto Sugar, Swerve, or coconut sugar
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (4oz/115g) cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons powdered Lakanto Sugar, or cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) then line a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the coconut oil and melted butter. Then, add the chocolate and melt it all in the microwave for 40 seconds. If you do not have a microwave you can do this over a bain marie.
- Once the chocolate is melted whisk until smooth and shiny.
- Whisk in the vanilla, salt, espresso powder, and Lakanto Sugar at this point.
- Add the eggs one at a time, making sure it is fully incorporated between each addition.
- Lastly, sift over the cocoa powder then fold it in with a spatula.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top has formed a nice crust and slightly risen.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before releasing from the spring form pan.
- Dust with Lakanto Powdered Sugar or cocoa powder for garnish and slice.
- Cover and store the cake in the fridge for up to 4 days.
can olive oil be substituted for coconut oil?
Unfortunately I followed the recipe but the oil separated while baking and floated to the top. Very disappointing
Could you replace the sugar with dates? If so, how many would you suggest?
I tried this cake today and everyone loved it! I’ve been devouring it ever since it came out of the oven! Way to go, Gem Gem, once agn! :-*
Since we’ve put ourselves on healthy diets the flourless version, although fudgy, is way lighter than the usual cake.
Hi gemma – will the recipe work if i dont add any sweetner?
Hi Gemma! I’m planning to make this for my husband’s birthday — he’s GF and sugar-free. Question: Does “sugar-free chocolate” mean unsweetened chocolate, or does it mean chocolate that’s been sweetened with a sugar alternative, such as coconut sugar? I think this should be clarified in the recipe, as it’s confusing. Thanks in advance for letting me know!!
I made this yesterday and this in absolutely gorgeous! I didnt have any sugar free chocoate, but 70 dark. So easy. What a great recipe
Shoot, I was planning on making this tomorrow for the first time, and I noticed an error on your recipe!! Is it 1 CUP of cocoa powder or 1/2 C.? Because you wrote 1 cup ( 4 oz.), which is a half a cup. So is it 1 C – 8 oz of cocoa powder or 1/2 C – 4 oz of cocoa powder? ( Big difference!)
Thanks
I made this today….had to open my door because the oil was burning in the oven. I have made a flourless choc cake before and I don’t remover this occurring.
Will this work if I use a plant based butter replacement?