Flourless Chocolate Cake with Kahlua Whipped Cream

Gluten-free chocolate cake with whipped cream on top, on a white plate.

5 from 12 votes

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Kahlua Whipped Cream

A rich, fudgy dessert that is pure chocolate decadence. Don't forget the Kahlua whipped cream to really take it over the top. This naturally gluten-free recipe can also be dairy-free, Paleo and keto-friendly.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Cooling time30

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 451kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

For the cake:

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. (6 oz.) chocolate chips, semi-sweet or bittersweet
10 tablespoons (4.6 oz) butter, plus more for the pan
1 cup blanched superfine almond flour
4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for dusting the cake, if desired
4 teaspoons espresso powder
½ teaspoons fine sea salt
6 eggs room temperature
1 cup coconut sugar or honey

For the Kahlua whipped cream

2 cups heavy cream chilled
¼ cup Kahlua

Instructions

For the cake:

Heat the oven to 350°. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9" springform pan with butter.
Melt the chocolate chips and butter together. Add them both to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 60-90 seconds, until melted. Let cool. (Doesn't have to be totally cool.) Alternately, you can heat 1 inch of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, until simmering. Add the chocolate and butter to a heat-proof bowl and place on the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Remove from heat and let cool. (Doesn't have to be totally cool.)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt.
Using a stand mixer with a paddale attachment or a hand mixer, beat the eggs and coconut sugar or honey until thick and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture: use a spatula to scrape down the side of the bowl, lift the batter up the opposite side of the bowl and then fold it over on top of over itself, rotating the bowl as you go.
Gently fold the slightly cooled chocolate mixture into the batter as above. Stop as soon as everything is blended so as to not deflate the eggs (the eggs might deflate a little bit, which is fine, but they shouldn't lose all their air).
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and bake for 40 minutes, until the top is dry but there's still a bit of wobble underneath. (Aim for 45 minutes if you don't want it quite so fudgy in the middle). Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before dusting with cocoa powder, if using. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.

For the Kahlua whipped cream:

Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, a hand mixer or a whisk, whisk the cream and Kahlua together until soft peaks form. (Time varies depending on method. Factor 3-5 minutes for either machine or 5-10 minutes for whisking by hand.)

Notes

Nutrition note: The nutrition info does not include the Kahlua whipped cream as you will not need all of it when serving the cake.

To make Kahlua whipped coconut cream: Chill 1-2 cans of full-fat coconut milk overnight. Turn upside down, open and pour out the coconut water (save for another use). Scoop out the coconut cream and whisk (with a stand mixer or hand mixer or by hand) with 2-4 tbsp. Kahlua, depending on how much cream you get.

To make this cake totally dairy-free: use coconut oil instead of butter, dairy-free chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life!) for the chocolate chips, and coconut cream for the heavy cream (see above).

To make this cake Paleo: use grass-fed butter or coconut oil for the butter; use dairy-free chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life! or Hu) instead of chocolate chips; do not use powdered sugar for dusting; use coconut cream for the heavy cream; omit the Kahlua and use the same amount of honey instead, plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. (see above for whipped coconut cream method).

To make this cake keto: use keto-approved chocolate chips; use keto-approved sweetener for the coconut sugar/honey; do not use powdered sugar for dusting; omit the Kahlua and use the same amount of keto-approved sweetener for the whipped cream or whipped coconut cream, plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract..

To make the cake ahead of time: It can be made up to 3 days in advance. Once it has cooled to room temperature (30-45 minutes), wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

To freeze the cake: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then room temperature for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

Leftovers can be chilled for up to 3 days.

To freeze leftovers: wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then room temperature for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

This recipe is adapted from the Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake in "Nigella Kitchen" by Nigella Lawson.

Nutrition