Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
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Made with ground almonds and chocolate ganache, this flourless chocolate cake is rich and elegant.
I’m in charge of dessert for Passover every year so I’ve made my fair share of flourless chocolate cakes. This one, adapted from Maida Heatter’s Cakes, is my all-time favorite. Originally called the Queen Mother’s Cake (it’s a long story), the cake is Heatter’s most popular recipe ever. It’s made with ground almonds instead of flour and frosted with a decadent chocolate ganache, making it rich, elegant and surprisingly light.
Even though it’s fancy and made with nuts, kids love it. As you can see, my son has been enjoying it as a snack cake all week long!
What you’ll need to make flourless chocolate Almond cake
There aren’t that many ingredients in this cake, which makes it look simple but I’ll be honest: there are a lot of steps! It’s not hard to make but it does take a few hours start to finish. I think it’s worth it!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by buttering a springform pan. Line the pan with a round of parchment paper, then butter the paper. Dust the pan with matzo meal (if making for Passover) or fine bread crumbs so the cake won’t stick. Next, toast and grind the almonds, separate the eggs and melt the chocolate in the microwave.
Next, beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition, then add the melted chocolate and ground almonds. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the chocolate mixture.
Bake the cake for about one hour and ten minutes, then let the cake cool. It will fall in the center as it cools; that’s okay — the next step is to cut off the edges of the cake to make it flat.
Next, make the frosting.
Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a medium saucepan, then whisk in the instant coffee powder. Off the heat, stir in the chocolate and stir until completely melted. Let the ganache thicken for 10-15 minutes, then pour it over top of the cake. Use a thin spatula to smooth it over the top and down the sides. Serve with fresh berries, sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or any combination.
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Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Made with ground almonds and chocolate ganache, this flourless chocolate cake is rich and elegant.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1½ cups slivered almonds
- Handful fine dry breadcrumbs, matzo meal or gluten-free substitute (for dusting the pan)
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- 1½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
- 6 large eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
For the Ganache Frosting
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the almonds in a single layer on the prepared pan and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the almonds are lightly colored and fragrant. Set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 9'' x 3'' springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper. Dust the pan all over with the fine bread crumbs (or matzo meal); rotate the pan several times to spread evenly, then invert over the sink and tap lightly to shake out any excess crumbs. Set the prepared pan aside.
- Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until about 75% melted. Stir and let the residual heat melt the chocolate until completely smooth. Set aside until tepid.
- Place the almonds and ¼ cup of the sugar (reserve remaining ½ cup sugar) in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade. (Reserve the parchment paper from the nuts for icing the cake.) Process until the nuts are finely ground, stopping the machine once or twice to scrape down the sides. You should process for about one minute total. The mixture will be a little pasty but should not be the consistency of a nut butter. Set aside the ground nuts.
- In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add ¼ cup of the sugar (reserve the remaining ¼ cup sugar) and beat to mix. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary until smooth. On low speed, add the chocolate and beat until mixed. Then add the processed almonds and beat, scraping the bowl, until incorporated.
- Now, the whites should be beaten in the large bowl of the mixer. If you don't have an additional large bowl for the mixer, transfer the chocolate mixture to any other large bowl. Wash the bowl and beaters.
- In the clean bowl of the mixer, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the salt and lemon juice, starting on low speed and increasing it gradually. When the whites barely hold a soft shape, gradually add the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Continue to beat until the whites hold stiff peaks when the beaters are raised. Do not overbeat.
- Stir a large spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it a bit. Then, in three additions, fold in the remaining whites. Do not fold thoroughly until the last addition and do not handle more than necessary.
- Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. Rotate the pan briskly in order to level the batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F, then reduce the temperature to 325°F and continue to bake for an additional 50 minutes. The top might crack a bit; that's okay.
- Remove the cake pan from the oven and place it on a rack. Let stand until tepid, 50 to 60 minutes.
- Release and remove the sides of the pan (do not cut around the sides with a knife—it will make the rim of the cake messy). Now, let the cake stand until it is completely cool.
- The cake will sink a little in the middle as it cools. Use a long, thin, sharp knife (I prefer serrated) and level the top. It will seem like you're cutting off a lot; don't worry about it. The finished cake should be about 1½-inches high. Brush away any loose crumbs. Place a rack or a small board over the cake and carefully invert. Remove the bottom of the pan and the paper lining.
- The cake is now upside down; this is the way it will be iced. Place 4 strips of the reserved parchment paper (each about 3'' x 12'') around the edges of a cake plate. With a large, wide spatula, carefully transfer the cake to the plate; check to be sure that the cake is touching the paper all around (in order to keep the icing off the plate when you ice the cake).
- To make the ganache frosting, heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Add the espresso or coffee powder and whisk to dissolve. Add the chocolate and remove from the heat. Stir until all the chocolate is all melted and the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
- Pour the ganache slowly over the top of the cake. Using a long, narrow metal spatula, smooth the top and spread the icing so that a little runs down the sides of the cake (not too much—the icing on the sides should be a much thinner layer than on the top). Smooth the sides with the spatula, then remove the parchment liners.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Calories: 464
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated fat: 17 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Sugar: 32 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 81 mg
- Cholesterol: 137 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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Jenn,
I just finished making the batter for the flourless chocolate cake. I’m afraid I didn’t process the almonds long enough because I can taste bits of the almonds in the batter and the batter is not silky smooth. Please advise. Thank you.
Hi Elaine, I don’t think it will matter much in the end result. You may taste some little crunchy pieces but I think it will still be good. 🙂
Thanks, Jenn. Fingers crossed it will be good.
This was a fabulous dessert. It got rave reviews from family and friends. Thanks you, Jenn. Once again, a 5-star rating!
I just made this today and seriously it turned out perfect! It tastes absolutely decadent! I will make this one again! The texture is silky and the taste is very rich , the ganache is so perfectly full of coffee / chocolate perfection! I would show a picture of mine but it pretty much looks like Jens! I agree you must follow the steps carefully!
thank you for your wonderful amazing delicious recipes!
Hi, Jenn! Can we use this chocolate ganache for frosting the chocolate lover’s birthday cake in your cookbook? 🙂 Thanks so much! We love your recipes!
Hi Rose, I prefer a thicker buttercream-style frosting for a layer cake, but you could use this one if you prefer a ganache.
Oh, thank you! 🙂 That makes sense. I guess we could try the frosting in the cookbook again. Our problem with the last batch was the sweetness level. My son prefers milk chocolate, but when I tried it with the frosting in your cookbook, it came out too sweet (likely because of the chocolate). To lessen the sweetness, should I reduce the sugar, the corn syrup, or both?
I’d reduce both 🙂
Thanks! We will try it! 🙂
Hello Jenn,
Looks like an amazing recipe. I am planning to bake this for my boyfriend’s birthday. Can I use honey in place of sugar?
Hi Bhumika, For the most predictable results, I’d stick with sugar here – sorry!
Hi, I am unable to get whipping cream where I live. Do you think a coconut milk chocolate ganache would work with these flavors instead?
Sure, Adrienne, I think that would work flavor-wise. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it! 🙂
Hi Jenn,
I didn’t end up using a coconut milk chocolate ganache, but I did end up making cream on my own using whole milk and butter (my husband helped with the elbow grease). The ganache turned out perfectly with these adjustments! 🙂
Glad it worked out — thanks for reporting back!
This is a very nice torte. I made it today, as a non-compromise recipe for my chocoholic lactose-intolerant son’s sixth birthday. My preference would have been Childs’ Queen of Sheba cake, but since my mom and I can’t eat wheat these days, this was a better option for a dessert we all could enjoy without too much tampering.
Due to its simplicity, the cake benefits from using quality ingredients. For the chocolate, I used Guittard semisweet (65%) baking bars and wafers. As I was pressed for time and currently have no food processor, I used superfine almond flour. Probably the extra work of roasting slivered almonds enhances the flavor, but the sub was good, and I’d probably do it again. For the dairy subs, I refrained from using regular cow’s milk butter, but found a non-palm-oil butter that at least did not detract. In the future, I might try it with regular butter, and just give the kiddo a lactose pill! I used unsweetened almond milk for the ganache (since almond milk does not take to boiling, I just added the chocolate wafers when the milk was body temp, then poured the ganache onto each slice separately, so I could keep the cake on the counter and the ganache on the fridge). Served with fresh raspberries, a perfect complement.
I would definitely make this torte again. The recipe is precise but not overly-fussy. I used two bowls and a hand mixer, washing the beaters inbetween, which was not a hardship. The torte itself is not very sweet, and has a nice, light body. It did sink, and I did not bother cutting anything off—I let it be craggy-funky and no one blinked. I added a little chocolate extract to the ganache, and might add it instead to the cake batter next time to enhance the chocolate flavor. I think I also would dust the springform with cocoa powder, rather than the almond flour I used this time. But otherwise, I wouldn’t mess with it too much—the recipe works well!
My husband was just diagnosed with celiac disease a few months ago, food had changed so much for us. Yesterday was his birthday and I made this for him, it was so delicious! I love how the instructions are very clear, you have pictures of the ingredients that you use and the steps, with helpful tips for make ahead/storing/freezing. Thank you!!
Can the cake be frozen and ganache applied when defrosted. Thanks
I love all your recipes💓
They’re well illustrated and extremely clear and easy to follow.
Thanks so much
So glad you like the recipes, Avril! 💗 While I’ve never frozen this, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t freeze nicely. Hope you enjoy!
What is the carb count for the cake alone?
Hi Mary, I just added nutritional info to the recipe and without the ganache layer, the carbs come out to 26 grams. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Would definitely give this five stars with a few notes…the biggest one being that the egg yolks need to be at room temp because when I added in the chocolate, it started to solidify upon contact with the egg yolks. My cake also didn’t sink in the middle at all, so I didn’t cut it down…just waited for it to cool in the Springform and drizzled the ganache over it. This is my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.
I read one of the reviews that says not to use Ghirardelli if you have gluten issues. That may be based on outdated information because any real or potential gluten cross-contamination (such as shared equipment or facilities) must be disclosed on product packaging and there’s nothing on the Ghirardelli semi-sweet bars indicating that. Additionally, I have Celiac and have been using Ghirardelli for the last year with no problems.