The Most Amazing Flourless Chocolate Cake

[Update Feb 2016: this is now the cover recipe of my first book, What Annabel Cooks and I’ve made it several times so I’ve updated a few of the photos on this original post so you can see it presented in a few different ways. Enjoy!]

I’m busy trying to stockpile a few ‘exclusive’ recipes for my cookbook so that you all are inspired to buy one and not just get the recipes from here, but I hate not sharing awesome recipes with you.  So I’m compelled to share this one, partly because I love to share, partly because the recipe is based on one given to me and partly because I made it for a charity morning tea raising money for Beyond Blue and so in the spirit of love and generosity, here is the recipe. Whilst I have served it with fresh cream, the recipe is dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free.

Click to read on for the recipe…

Firstly though I have to tell you the story of how I came across the ‘base’ for this recipe.  Last term I was facilitating a marriage course through my church and on the last night one of the ladies attending had offered to bake a cake so we could all enjoy it on our last night together.  The night was the night I’d just had all my family (who’d been staying for a week) had left and the next day was my birthday (she didn’t know this part).  At the course Judy told me that she’d looked up my blog, realised I was gluten free and went in search of a gluten free cake.  She told me how she’d never made a GF cake before so was worried it mightn’t be great.  Oh my goodness, it was AMAZING and I even got to take the leftovers home and enjoyed more the next day for my birthday.  I was so touched by her thoughtfulness.

I have tweaked the recipe from the original which you’ll find here, to make it dairy free and refined sugar free.  I have also included instructions for both thermomix users and non-thermomix users.  I hope you enjoy it as much I have.

 The Most Amazing Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 200g coconut oil
• 180g dark chocolate
• 1 shot coffee
• 2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
• 2 Tbsp Frangelico or brandy
• 4 eggs separated
• 2/3 cups/120g xylitol
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups almond meal
• cream & strawberries to serve

Instructions – regular:

1. Preheat oven to 160C/320F (fan forced). Grease and line a 22cm springform pan.
2. Place coconut oil, chocolate, coffee, cacao and Frangelico ina saucepan and melt over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 mins.
3. Transfer chocolate mix to a large bowl and set aside.
4. Using electric beaters, beat the xylitol, egg yolks and vanilla until pale, thick and creamy.
5. Fold the yolk & sugar mix together with the almond meal into the chocolate mix.
6. In a separate bowl, using electric beaters, beat egg whites  until at soft peak stage.
7. Fold 1/2 egg white mix into the batter. Fold the rest of the egg whites in.
8. Pour into the springform pan.  Bake 45-50 mins.
9. Leave to cool in the tin.

Instructions – thermomix
1. Preheat oven to 160C/320F.  Grease and line a 22cm springform pan.
2. Place coconut oil, chocolate, coffee, cacao and Frangelico in the bowl. Chop sp7/5sec then melt for 5min/50C/sp3.  Transfer chocolate mix 3. to a large bowl and set aside.
4. Blitz xylitol sp9/2-3sec. Scrape down sides.  Add butterfly, yolks and vanilla.  Whip 5min/37C/sp3. Scrap down sides and repeat with no heat.
5. Fold the yolk & sugar mix together with the almond meal into the chocolate mix.
6. Beat egg whites  4min/50C/sp4 or until soft peak stage.
7. Fold 1/2 egg white mix into the batter. Fold the rest of the egg whites in.
8. Pour into the springform pan.  Bake 45-50 mins.
9. Leave to cool in the tin.

Note: Serve with whipped cream (for non-dairy option serve with whipped coconut cream or coconut cream ice cream) and strawberries.