Name: Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 10 slices
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao) (chopped); 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cut into pieces); 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 4 large eggs (room temperature); 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp fine sea salt; 1 1/2 cups almond flour (blanched, not almond meal); 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (for dusting the pan); powdered sugar or flaky salt (optional, for finishing)

Jump to Recipe

My daughter has a gluten sensitivity and her birthday was in three days, so I tested this twice in one afternoon until it was something I'd actually serve to adults at a dinner party.

Almond flour and bittersweet chocolate do the heavy lifting here. No fussy techniques, no weird ingredients, and the whole thing comes together in 15 minutes of real work before the oven takes over.

Dense, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey with a crackled top that looks like you tried harder than you did.

4.7 (49 reviews)

Gluten-free

Prep15 min

Cook35 min

Cool in pan before slicing20 min

Total1 hr 10 min

Serves10 slices

Ingredients

8 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao) , chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter , cut into pieces
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs , room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups almond flour , blanched, not almond meal
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder , for dusting the pan
powdered sugar or flaky salt , optional, for finishing

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, grease the parchment, then dust with cocoa powder and tap out the excess. Set it aside.

Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with 1 inch of barely simmering water. Stir slowly every 30 seconds. After about 4 minutes the mixture will look glossy and smell like a chocolate shop. Pull it off the heat the moment the last solid piece disappears.

Whisk the sugar into the warm chocolate mixture until fully combined, about 1 minute. The mixture will look grainy at first, then smooth out and go slightly thick.

Add the eggs one at a time, whisking each one in fully before adding the next. By the fourth egg the batter will look shiny and ribbon slightly off the whisk. Add the vanilla and salt and whisk once more.

Fold in the almond flour with a rubber spatula using slow, deliberate strokes from the bottom of the bowl. Stop when no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thick and dense, not pourable.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top flat. Bake for 33 to 35 minutes. The top will be set and crackled across the surface, and when you press the center lightly it will feel firm but with a very slight give, like a brownie.

Pull the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before running a knife around the edge and inverting. Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar or a pinch of flaky salt across the top right before serving.

Tips & Notes

Room temperature eggs blend into warm chocolate without seizing it. Cold eggs can cause the chocolate to tighten and look greasy.
Blanched almond flour gives a finer crumb. Almond meal made from whole almonds produces a grainier, denser result.
The crackled top is the visual cue that it baked correctly. If yours comes out smooth, the oven temperature may be running low.
This cake slices cleanest at room temperature, not warm. Give it the full 20 minutes.

Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving for best texture.

Nutrition per serving · estimated

348 Cal

26g Fat

28g Carbs

7g Protein

3g Fiber

22g Sugar

95mg Sodium

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Why almond flour works where all-purpose wouldn't

All-purpose flour in a cake this wet would go gummy. Almond flour absorbs differently because it has no gluten to develop. It gives the crumb structure without tightening up, which is why the texture lands somewhere between a brownie and a flourless torte.

The fat content in almond flour also works with the butter and chocolate instead of fighting them. You end up with something that slices cleanly and holds together at the table instead of crumbling the moment you plate it.

The one thing that changes the outcome

Chocolate quality matters more in this recipe than in almost anything else I make. There's no flour to hide behind, no frosting covering the flavor. I use a 70% bittersweet bar, chopped myself, not chips. Chips have stabilizers that change how they melt.

If the chocolate smells good in the wrapper, it will taste good in the cake. That's the only test worth running.

Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake