This cake is without a doubt a celebration cake.
This gorgeous, rich chocolaty confection comes from my lovely friend Jenna Weber over at Eat, Live, Run. I just adore Jenna, and today we are celebrating the launch of her very first book: White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story.
This is an autobiography studded with wonderful and comforting recipes, one of which, with Jenna’s blessing, I am sharing with you here today.
Flourless Chocolate Cake is by nature, rich and decadent and completely chocolaty! It would really be so delicious even on its own, but it is somehow made even better with the addition of vanilla buttercream frosting. And because I had so many ripe figs, I couldn’t help but crown the beautiful cake with freshly sliced figs. I could see how this would be similarly wonderful with fresh berries.
I hope the simplicity and the beauty of this recipe will encourage you to read Jennas story and explore her recipes further. But she can always be found over at Eat, Live, Run where she generously posts non-stop creative and tasty recipes.
To make this gorgeous cake, this is what you do:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly butter two 9-inch cake pans, then dust each lightly with flour and set aside.
Next, you make the cake layers. In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and butter together.
While mixture is melting, whip eggs in a stand mixer at high speed.
After about 3 minutes, when eggs start to become thick and pale, add sugar slowly.
Continue whipping on high until the mixture is thick, pale, and ribbony, about 6-8 more minutes.
Slowly fold melted chocolate into the egg-and-sugar mixture, gently turning with a rubber spatula so that batter stays light and airy.
Pour batter into cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool in cake pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes and transfer from pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While cakes are cooling, make the frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add milk and vanilla extract, and continue beating on high until the frosting is thick and light, about 5 minutes.
When the cake layers are cooled completely, spread one third of the frosting on top of one layer, and top with the other layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.
Reprinted with permission from White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story © 2012 by Jenna Weber, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Vanilla-Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- Makes two 9-inch cake layers
- For the cake
- -10 ounces (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate
- -5 ounces butter
- -6 eggs, at room temperature
- -½ cup granulated sugar
- For the frosting
- -2 sticks (½ pound) butter, softened
- -2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- -1 tablespoon milk
- -2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly butter two 9-inch cake pans, then dust each lightly with flour and set aside.
- Make the cake layers:
- 2. In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and butter together.
- 3. While mixture is melting, whip eggs in a stand mixer at high speed.
- 4. After about 3 minutes, when eggs start to become thick and pale, add sugar slowly.
- 5. Continue whipping on high until the mixture is thick, pale, and ribbony, about 6-8 more minutes.
- 6. Slowly fold melted chocolate into the egg-and-sugar mixture, gently turning with a rubber spatula so that batter stays light and airy.
- 7. Pour batter into cake pans.
- 8. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool in cake pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes and transfer from pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While cakes are cooling, make the frosting:
- 9. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add milk and vanilla extract, and continue beating on high until the frosting is thick and light, about 5 minutes.
- 10. When the cake layers are cooled completely, spread one third of the frosting on top of one layer, and top with the other layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.
- Reprinted with permission from White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story © 2012 by Jenna Weber, Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
- Author Bio
- Jenna Weber, author of White Jacket Required: A Culinary Coming-of-Age Story, is the author of the highly successful food blog Eat, Live, Run. In 2007, she attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Florida. White Jacket Required is her first book. She lives in San Francisco, California. Go to www.eatliverun.com for an up-to-the-minute look at Weber’s world of food.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
Print Recipe
This cake is beautiful! You know, I’ve never had a fresh fig before! And I seriously need to get into them. I also need to get Jenna’s book! So many things to do, but so, so, worth it!
Fresh figs are certainly something special! If you are going for raw ones the first time- My fav way to eat them is with cheese and honey. BUt what doesn’t taste good like that I suppose?
Yes- Jenna’s book is great. I am so proud of her 🙂
Heather
Would this flourless cake be sturdy enough to make it a 4 layer cake? I’ve never made a flourless cake before.
Thank you, Pam
Heather
Would this flourless cake be sturdy enough to make it a 4 layer cake? I’ve never made a flourless cake before.
Thank you, Pam
Love this cake!
Thanks Maria!!
Heather
Would this flourless cake be sturdy enough to make it a 4 layer cake? I’ve never made a flourless cake before.
Thank you, Pam
I want that cake…like today, I want that cake! What a gorgeous presentation, Heather! I will be on the look out for Jenna’s book. If this cake is any indication of more to come, count me in!
I love the figs as a garnish. Beautiful!
Thanks Carrie! It is hard to resist those gorgeous ripe figs!
Yay! So happy to celebrate with you 🙂
Me too!!
Heather, these photos are gorgeous! And I can’t wait to read Jenna’s book, she is so adorable.
Thank you so much Jackie! Yes- Jenna is so cute- I am so excited for her!
Love those beautiful figs on top. Makes the cake look so unique!
Yummy cake! I can’t wait to read Jenna’s book – my copy should be arriving tomorrow – she’s great!
This cake is decorated so pretty, love the colors from the cut figs.
What a stunning cake, Heather!
Beautiful! And those figs look so delicious…
I’m in love with the colour combination – the green and pink of the figs go so nicely with the frosting and cake stand.
I am going to make this cake this weekend, could I use. A dark chocolate instead of semi sweet?
totally Jodi- that will be just fine!
have you ever added vanilla bean paste to a vanilla buttercream frosting? Think that would work?
Julie- ALL THE TIME!!! it is the best- just use the same amount you would normally. I use that paste in most of my baked goods that call for vanilla extract. I also love the speckled effect of the seeds.
So you substitute the paste for the extract?
Got a bday butterfly cake to make for a 4yr old! The only request (gasp!) is no chocolate!
yes- it is a direct swap! CUTE!! have fun baking!
I am sorry to say that the cake fell completely apart even as it cooled in the pan. It was a disaster. It was the first time I tried it and meant for a birthday cake. I must say I am disappointed.
I am so sorry Erin. There is nothing more disappointed than spending all that time and not having something work out. This recipe belongs to my friend Jenna, who’s book I was helping get the word out about. I had a successful time with her recipe, but I am not sure how to have better trouble shot, since it is not my creation.
If you are looking for a no fail chocolate cake, please try this one. (even if you don’t want all the frosting, the cake itself is perfect. This is my favorite (and mass tested to perfection!) chocolate cake.
Another favorite is this one. Sorry again Erin.
Thanks for the alternate suggestions Heather…I also had the same experience as Erin and was so upset. However, I ended up just taking the cake pieces, once I’d pried them out of the pan, and sticking them in 4 little ramekins. I cut the icing recipe in half, which was just enough to ice the ramekins.
Thanks for the input Laura. I am so sorry. I wonder if I should take down the recipe? What do you think? I feel so bad when something doesn’t work for people…
Also- brilliant save with the ramekins Laura!
Thanks for not taking this recipe down! I’m looking for a yummy flourless cake recipe for my gluten free friends! Fingers crossed that it works! I will let you know! 🙂
SUCCESS! It did crack a little when I was removing from the pan (next time I will use parchment paper), but I was able to reshape it. I wrapped it well and froze it before frosting. I also used fresh raspberries along with the buttercream as a filling. I garnished the top with a few that I had leftover. It was a hit at my niece’s bridal shower! I will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks!
I’m not sure if you’ll see, or be able to respond to this question or not…
I have made this mostly successfully a few times (have had some sticking problems and it does end up with raised edges and concave in the center a bit) but was wondering if you have any thoughts on what might happen if I left the mixer on, continuing to whip the eggs and slowly added the chocolate that way instead of folding it in?
Hi Stephanie- So I have had a lot of readers with issues with this recipe and have even contemplated removing it. The thing is, it isn’t my recipe, so it is hard for me to troubleshoot it. I think that the folding is supposed to keep it from deflating the egg whites. However if you really like this recipe otherwise, there is no harm in trying some other ways of preparing it? Please let me know if you find any solutions!
Thanks for responding! I am glad you didn’t take the recipe down! My inquiry was more out of laziness than an issue with the recipe. I was hoping to save some time (maybe I am being a little too gentle on the folding – it takes me a while to get everything combined) by drizzling in the chocolate while the mixer ran and hopefully keep the loft of the eggs. I’ll just have to experiment and hope for the best! Although I have had the problems I mentioned in the first post, it always tastes great – it just hasn’t always been pretty! I was careful to prepare the pans very well last time and the cakes came right out. So in my case, I think any issues I’ve had have been user error! Not sure why they have the raised edges/sunken center, but that’s not the end of the world once it’s frosted!
Always glad to hear feedback Stephanie! thank you!
I followed the directions, buttering and flouring the pans. Made the cakes, and they looked like the ones on the page, but unfortunately, after cutting around the outside and giving them 10 min. to cool, they wouldn’t come out of the pans. I ended up cutting each cake in quarters and scraping them out that way. the second came out better than the first, but there was a lot of “cutting and pasting”. As there are so many good reviews, I must have done something wrong, but I can’t quite figure out what. I felt like such a newbie. I can cook as well as bake pretty well, and I felt like I took a giant step backwards. Thank goodness for the delicious frosting to hold it all together. 🙂