Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe • 4★ • 1 hr 15 min

Updated Sept. 1, 2025

Crackly on top and fudgy yet tender in the center, this cake tastes like a complex restaurant dessert, but comes together effortlessly in one bowl. Chocolate chips save you the messy step of chopping chocolate bars and deliver deep flavor along with cocoa powder. If you don’t have a springform pan, a regular cake pan lined with foil all around makes it easy to lift out the delicate cake, which melts in your mouth when served warm or at room temperature. Refrigerated or frozen leftovers take on a candylike chewiness, but a quick zap in the microwave will return it to just-baked softness. Slices are delicious on their own or with any creamy toppings.

Featured in: Forget Chocolate Bars: Baking With Chips Is Often Better

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¾cup/168 grams unsalted butter, cut up, plus more for greasing the pan

1cup/173 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

½cup/50 grams unsweetened natural cocoa powder

¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar

1teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving (optional)

309 calories; 22 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 34 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Step 1Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan, or press a large sheet of foil into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch round cake pan, smoothing the sides, and generously butter the foil.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan, or press a large sheet of foil into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch round cake pan, smoothing the sides, and generously butter the foil.

Step 2Bring a few inches of water in a large saucepan to a simmer over medium heat. Set a large heatproof bowl over the saucepan and add the chocolate. When the chips look soft and melty, stir gently until smooth. Turn off the heat, and add the butter to the bowl. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth, then take the bowl off the saucepan.

Bring a few inches of water in a large saucepan to a simmer over medium heat. Set a large heatproof bowl over the saucepan and add the chocolate. When the chips look soft and melty, stir gently until smooth. Turn off the heat, and add the butter to the bowl. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth, then take the bowl off the saucepan.

Step 3Stir in the granulated sugar until incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Stir in the granulated sugar until incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Step 4Bake until crackly and dry on top, and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with some crumbs attached.

Bake until crackly and dry on top, and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with some crumbs attached.

Step 5Cool in the pan on a rack, then remove the sides of the springform pan or lift the cake out of the cake pan using the foil overhang. You can slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Or, to cut very neat slices, freeze the cooled cake until firm. Slice and warm up in the microwave or oven, if preferred. Serve the cake with whipped cream or ice cream, if you’d like. The cake can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Cool in the pan on a rack, then remove the sides of the springform pan or lift the cake out of the cake pan using the foil overhang. You can slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Or, to cut very neat slices, freeze the cooled cake until firm. Slice and warm up in the microwave or oven, if preferred. Serve the cake with whipped cream or ice cream, if you’d like. The cake can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

I can name that tune in one note….forget the double boiler and melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on low heat for 15 seconds at a time. Stir after each zap until melted, stir, then dump in the rest of the ingredients, mix well and bake.

1-2 teaspoons of instant expresso makes this great desert even better!

CORRECTION WITH MY APOLOGIES. Save the unnecessary double boiler. and just melt the chocolate chips AND butter in the microwave in 15 second zaps until melted. Stir until smooth. and a little cooled. Dump in remaining ingredients, blend well, and proceed as directed.

Love Genevieve Ko's recipes, This is easy to make and everyone loves it. Unlike other flourless cakes, this is moist. I followed the recipe exactly as written.

I made this three times over Passover. The first time I made exactly as written. Second time I added some decaf instant coffee. Third time I included the coffee, mixed the yolks straight in, and whipped up the egg whites to just short of soft peak and folded them in. The last was the best. This is easy to make on the holiday day (yom tov) if you are observant by just sticking a glass bowl with the chocolate chips and margarine/butter in an oven to melt, then proceeding.

This is much more classic flourless cake-like than the recipes that have you separate the eggs, whip the whites and fold them into the beaten yolk & chocolate. Those recipes result in something that's much more like a mousse.

This version is similar to the recipe published by King Arthur Flour, although that one includes heavy cream.

It's best to measure the ingredients by weight using a kitchen scale.

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022963-flourless-chocolate-cake