Fudgy 5-Ingredient Chocolate Cake

Fudgy 5-Ingredient Chocolate Cake

From Stonesoup

This is my all-time favourite chocolate cake recipe. It’s gluten free. It’s dense and fudgy, yet at the same time it’s light and lovely.

Enough for 6 or possibly 8 if everyone is feeling virtuous.
Takes; 40 minutes
100g (3.5oz) butter
200g (7oz) 70% cocoa solids chocolate, chopped into chunks
4 eggs
100g (3.5oz) caster sugar
100g (3.5oz) almond meal

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Melt butter and grease a 20cm springform cake tin.

2. Add chocolate chunks to the hot butter and allow to stand off the heat.

3. Meanwhile, separate eggs. Whisk whites with a pinch of salt until white and foamy and the volume doesn’t seem to be increasing any more.

4. Gently scatter in the sugar and keep whisking eggs for a minute or so. Then attend to the chocolate mixture.

5. Stir the melted chocolate and butter together. Add egg yolks. Stir. Add nuts. Stir.

6. Gently combine chocolate mixture with egg white mixture. Transfer to your prepared cake tin.

7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top feels firm with a springy mass underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

Variations

sugar-free – use 85% cocoa solids chocolate and replace the caster sugar with erythritol or a commercial erythritol / stevia blend like Natvia.

‘easter’ cake – serve with a ‘nest’ of marscapone on top and pile on a heap of little chocolate Easter eggs – I used a mixture of white, milk and dark chocolate eggs.

different nuts – I often use hazelnuts or pecans instead of the almond meal. Most nuts will work well here.

nut-free – you could try replacing the nuts with flour, but I’d be worried it would dry the cake out. My first step would be to replace half the nuts with an extra egg and replace the other half with extra chocolate to go for a flourless chocolate cake texture. I haven’t tried this so if you do, please let me know!

milk or white chocolate – again I haven’t tried these because I love dark chocolate so much, but there’s no reason they won’t work.

dairy-free – replace butter with vegetable oil or coconut oil.

vegan – I’m afraid we’re relying on egg whites for texture here so this isn’t a cake for vegans.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

butter – will keep in the fridge for months. Can be frozen.

chocolate, sugar, almond meal – pantry.

eggs – keep in the pantry for weeks and in the fridge for over a month. For longer storage, they can be hard boiled and kept in the fridge for months. To freeze remove from shells and freeze in a container or ziplock bag.