Shared by Claudia Roden
Shared by Claudia Roden
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Yield: One 9-inch cakeTime: About 1 hour
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Yield: One 9-inch cakeTime: About 1 hourFamily Journey
Aleppo and IstanbulCairo
London
This Passover recipe comes from cookbook author Claudia Roden. Here, she shares its story in her own words:
I featured this Passover cake in my first book [“A Book of Middle Eastern Food”], which came out in 1968, and it has since become a family birthday favorite. The recipe is from my mother’s friend Lucie Ades, whose family came from France. She admitted, years later, that she had forgotten to add butter in the ingredients she gave us. But we preferred it without anyway.
Cooking notes: You can skip the butter to make this cake dairy-free, as Claudia’s family prefers — or make it with butter for a richer rendition. The dairy-free version is even better the next day. Just be sure to keep it wrapped well.
When whipping egg whites, be sure to use metal or glass equipment that is squeaky clean. Even a small amount of egg yolk or grease in the bowl can prevent the whites from whipping properly.
Read more about Claudia’s family in "Claudia Roden Has Carefully Preserved a Lost Jewish" and try her recipes for Egyptian charoset, braised fava beans and artichoke bottoms, slow roasted lamb shoulder with apricot sauce, and spiced saffron rice with nuts.
Ingredients
- 9 oz (250 g) 70% dark chocolate
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cubed (optional)
- 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (60 g) almond flour
- Oil and almond flour for the cake pan
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a non-stick 9-inch springform cake pan with oil and dust with almond flour.
Step 2
Break the chocolate into small pieces and place with butter (if using) in a heatproof bowl. Fill a pot with 1–2 inches of water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Set the bowl over the pot, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is fully melted, then set aside to cool.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the ¼ cup sugar and the salt, and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.
Step 4
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until light in color and fluffy.
Step 5
Add in the almond flour and the melted chocolate and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 6
Add 2–3 tablespoons of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Then, working in two or three batches, gently fold in the remaining whipped egg whites until just incorporated. Be careful not to overfold.
Step 7
Pour the cake mixture in the prepared cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Step 8
Let the cake cool completely, then run a thin knife around the inside edge of the cake pan before releasing the latch. Remove the ring, then slide a knife between the crust and the pan base to release and remove the cake.
Step 9
Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
