Chocolate Truffle Cake

What if I told you that you could make a delicious flourless chocolate cake with very little fuss? That if you bungled the recipe, it would still be delicious?

That, my friend, is this Chocolate Truffle Cake. No separating eggs, no electric mixers necessary. It's so incredibly simple that I may never try another flourless chocolate cake recipe.

You don't need a mixer. You don't separate egg, or whip egg whites into any kind of peaks (where I usually have to Google what stiff egg white peaks look like). You just need 4 ingredients, and some time.

Okay. So I'm making this sound like a miracle recipe - and honestly, it kind of is.

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This recipe is adapted from the Chocolate Orbit Cake from a David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert (affiliate link). When he developed this recipe, he called it "Chocolate Idiot Cake," because it was idiot-proof. And he's right. It was still delicious the time I messed it up by not actually following the instructions. Any cake that is still good when overbaked is a winner.

My friends have called it "Chocolate Truffle Cake," which is both a great name, and very accurate. This rich, dense cake melts in your mouth, just as a truffle does.

How to Make Chocolate Truffle Cake

This recipe takes just 4 ingredients - butter, chocolate, eggs, and sugar. I use the cheapest butter, eggs, and sugar I can buy. The chocolate shines, however, and you want to be sure you use good stuff. Although I bake with generic chocolate chips sometimes, I've only ever used Ghirardelli chocolate chips (affiliate link) in this. Use something delicious, that you'd like to eat on its own.

While you melt your butter and chocolate, get your pan ready. I use a 9-inch Springform pan because the bottom detaches, but you could use a cake pan as well. Grease the sides and bottom. Wrap foil around the outside bottom and sides of the pan. Then place the pan in a larger baking dish.

You're going to pour water into this larger baking dish later; it will insulate the sides of the cake, slowing down how fast it bakes and keeping it from overbaking. You want the foil to be high enough to keep water from leaking into the cracks between the side and bottom of your Springform pan.

Start by melting together your butter and chocolate. You can do this in a microwave, but Lebovitz did it in a double boiler, and so did I. (Sounds intimidating, but I promise it's not.) You'll need hot water later anyway, so might as well start heating it up now.

What is a double boiler? I promise it's not intimidating. It's a heat-proof bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water, completely covering the top and trapping the steam. The steam from the pot gently heats the bottom of the bowl, which melts the chocolate and butter.

Why use it? This method helps prevent chocolate from burning or seizing by keeping it away from direct heating element or flame. It's especially helpful if you have trouble finessing the temperature on your burners.

It takes a little time to melt the chocolate and butter this way. The chocolate melted before the cold butter. You can save time by softening your butter in the microwave first.

You can also melt this in the microwave as long as you heat it in short bursts. Stir every 30 seconds for the first minute, then every 15 seconds thereafter, until everything is melted and smooth.

In a larger bowl, use a whisk to combine eggs with sugar. You're just breaking the eggs apart, not really beating them. You just don't want clumps of yolk.

Since your melted chocolate is still hot, whisk the egg mixture while you slowly drizzle in the chocolate. This will help keep the eggs from cooking, or the chocolate from seizing from hitting the cold eggs. Don't worry if the chocolate seems to separate, though; it will mix in.

Whisk the mixture just to combine. The batter will suddenly be thicker and uniform, and that's when you know you're done.

Scrape your batter into your greased pan. Then take a sheet of aluminum foil and COVER THE PAN. I completely forgot this step once. The top foil helps insulate the cake, keeping it from baking too quickly.

Pour hot water into the larger pan that holds the Springform. Water should go about halfway up the sides of your Springform pan (which will also be how high your cake batter is). I always use the water I used to help melt the chocolate, plus some extra.

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This water bath is necessary. The time I didn't add enough water, the cake overbaked. (Although, it was okay with liberal amounts of whipped cream. The bottom half of that cake was perfect and delicious.)

Bake your cake for about 75 minutes. Check earlier if your oven runs hot. The cake is done when your finger comes away clean when you gently touch the cake. Mine usually needs a few extra minutes, and honestly, my finger still comes away a little chocolatey. The cake will look set but still be soft.

Remove the Springform pan from the water bath and unwrap the foil. Cool completely, then refrigerate.

Serving and Storing

Store this cake in the refrigerator. If well covered, you can enjoy slices a week later, if you haven't devoured it already.

The cake doesn't need adornment, but we like to add a little whipped cream to contrast with the rich dark chocolate. A raspberry or orange drizzle would also be lovely, but nothing too sweet, nor anything too hard or crunchy. I wouldn't want anything to interfere with the melt-in-your-mouth experience of this delicious chocolate cake.

Want more chocolate? Try a rich Chocolate Stout Cake, super-moist Chocolate Zucchini Cake, tender Double Chocolate Caramel Chip Cookies, or Double Chocolate Scones. Also consider classic Hershey's Brownies, dense Best Cocoa Brownies, or my all-time favorite, one-bowl Fudge Brownies.

Interested in other recipes? I save and share recipes I like or want to try on my Pinterest page - follow me there! You can also check out my Facebook page for more recipes and helpful tips. I'm also happy to try to help troubleshoot my recipes there.

Have you tried this recipe? Or have a question about it? Rate it or leave a comment below! (PS: rating my recipes helps other people find them, too!)

In the past:

One Year Ago: Coconut Cream Pie

Two Years Ago: Bulgogi Tacos

Three Years Ago: Tres Leches Cake

Four Years Ago: Carrot Soup with Sesame and Chickpeas

Six Years Ago: Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes

Eight Years Ago: Beef with Capers and Garlic

Nine Years Ago: Ginger-Pecan Scones

Ten Years Ago: Kale and Potato Hash review, Espresso Brownies review, Blueberry Pie (full recipe)

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