This healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake is made with 5 simple ingredients and makes an impressive dessert to bring to a party. It’s rich & fudgy, and naturally gluten-free!
This cake recipe reminds me of a cross between brownies and fudge. It has a rich chocolate flavor, and everyone who tastes it will ask for the recipe!
You can top it with a dusting of powdered sugar or cacao powder, and serve it with fresh fruit for an easy dessert. No flour required.
Prefer a fluffier cake? Try my healthy birthday cake, chocolate almond flour cake, or coconut flour cake instead.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in a flourless chocolate cake?
- Dark chocolate chips
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar (I use coconut sugar)
- Cacao or cocoa powder
- Butter
This cake is very similar to the traditional version, only it’s made slightly healthier by using less overall sugar, for a dark chocolate flavor. My family enjoys grass-fed butter and pastured eggs, but you may also want to check out the substitution ideas below for a lower-fat dessert.
Tip: I use salted butter in this recipe, as I prefer the flavor it adds. If you use unsalted butter, you may want to add a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to this recipe, to boost the overall flavor. Sweet recipes need a little salt, too!
If you’d like another boost of flavor, you could also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or espresso powder, which can sometimes elevate the chocolate flavor even more.
Want to Make it Even Healthier?
I’ve been making this flourless chocolate cake for so many years, I’ve tried lots of substitutions.
Here are some things to try:
- Make it dairy-free. Swap the butter for a 1/3 cup coconut oil. This will give the cake a hint of coconut flavor, or you can use refined coconut oil (also called expeller pressed) which has no coconut flavor. Alternatively, you can use a vegan butter, if you prefer.
- Make it lower fat. Swap half of the butter for pumpkin puree. You can also do this with the coconut oil variation mentioned above. The pumpkin has a neutral flavor (unlike applesauce or banana, which I don’t recommend) so you won’t taste it at all. I don’t recommend swapping ALL of the fat for pumpkin puree, or the texture will change more significantly, but feel free to experiment with it.
- Make it egg-free. I don’t recommend using an egg substitute for this recipe, because the eggs provide most of the structure, but you can check out my vegan chocolate tart for a similar dessert made without eggs or dairy.
- Sweeten with honey. If you’d like to avoid all refined sugar, you can swap the dark chocolate chips for unsweetened baking chocolate and replace the coconut sugar with 3/4 cup honey, instead. I haven’t tested this recipe with maple syrup yet, so I couldn’t tell you if it will work with another sweetener.
- Reduce the sugar. I’ve tested this recipe with only 3/4 cup of coconut sugar, and it’s not quite sweet enough for my family when I use 72% dark chocolate chips as the base. However, if you use a sweeter dark chocolate (in the 50-60% range) you may be able to use less coconut sugar. Or, if you use semi-sweet chocolate, you may only need a 1/2 cup of added sugar. Feel free to experiment with it!
How to Make Flourless Chocolate Cake
1. Melt the chocolate.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF so it will be ready to go, then place the chocolate chips and butter in a heatproof bowl. Melt them together using a double boiler over the stove (or the microwave, if you prefer) and stir until smooth.
I make a double boiler by filling a small saucepan with 1-inch of water, then bring it to a simmer and place the heat safe bowl on top of the pan. It should totally cover the top of the saucepan, so the bottom of the bowl will gently heat up.
Set the bowl aside to cool slightly, while you mix the other ingredients.
2. Mix.
In a large bowl, mix the coconut sugar, eggs, and cacao powder. Stir well, then add in the cooled melted chocolate. (You don’t want it to be too hot, or it could start to cook the eggs!)
Use cooking spray to grease an 8-inch springform pan lightly with oil, then pour the batter into the pan. If you don’t have a springform pan, you can also use a round cake pan lined with parchment paper, to help with easy removal later. (If you only have a 9-inch pan, that will work, too! It will simply produce a thinner cake and you can probably reduce the cook time by 2 minutes or so.)
3. Bake.
Bake the flourless cake at 375ºF for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cake feels firm to a light touch in the center. Let it cool completely in the pan, for at least 30 minutes before serving.
It will firm up even faster if you store it in the refrigerator, to help it cool down.
4. Serve.
Use a sharp knife to slice the cake into thin pieces (because it’s rich!) and serve it with a dollop of coconut whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream, if you like. I think it pairs well with fresh raspberries, or any other fresh berries you like, to help cut some of the richness.
This cake should remove from the pan easily, but it may also slightly stick to the knife as you slice it. Be sure to wipe-down your knife in between slices, if you’d like to keep them looking pretty!
Prefer a frosted cake? It’s not necessary in this case, but you can add an easy vegan chocolate ganache on top, if you’d like.
Storage Tips: You can prepare this cake up to 2 days in advance, and keep it tightly covered in the fridge. Serve it chilled or let it come to room temperature for 1 hour, for the best flavor.
You can also store this flourless chocolate cake in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before serving it the next day.
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chips (72% cacao content)
- 1/2 cup salted butter (see notes for variations)
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or other granulated sugar)
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and grease an 8" springform pan with cooking spray.
- In a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter together, stirring until completely smooth. (You can use a double-boiler for this, or the microwave in 30-second intervals.) Set it aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar, eggs, and cacao powder. Stir until smooth, then add in the cooled chocolate. (Make sure it's not too hot, so it doesn't start to cook the eggs.) Mix until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate batter into the greased pan and then bake at 375ºF until the center looks firm, about 20 to 22 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely. You can speed the process by placing it in the fridge to cool, if you need to serve it in under 2 hours. You can make this cake up to 2 days in advance and store it tightly covered in the fridge until you're ready to serve. I recommend bringing it to room temperature on the counter for at least 1 hour for the best flavor. Serve with shaved chocolate on top, for a pretty presentation, or a sprinkle of cacao powder or powdered sugar, if you prefer. You can also freeze this cake, tightly covered, for up to 3 months.
Notes
- 4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 3/4 cup honey
- 4 eggs
Nutrition
If you try this gluten-free chocolate cake, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.
We love this cake! I’ve topped it with a peanut butter “mousse” (whipped heavy cream, natural peanut butter, maple syrup) and it is sooooo good!!! I’m going to try it with peppermint extract next.
I did realize that I’ve been making it with 8oz of baking chocolate instead of 4, but I love it so much I’m afraid to try it the proper way!
I made this with coconut sugar instead, I just melted it with the butter and chocolate, then slowly added the eggs. I didn’t have cocoa powder so didn’t use that, but added a handful of frozen cherries into the batter to make it a little different! YUMMM!
thanks
Thank you!
Amazing!! I have an insane sweet tooth but I decided to stop eating refined sugars and processed food. The only thing I eat that’s sweet anymore is honey so I am looking for baked items that are sweetened with honey (and don’t have flour). When I saw this recipe I couldn’t wait to try it. It didn’t turn out as dense as I thought it was going to be but the flavor is awesome! I would’ve kept it in the oven for longer to harden it up a bit but the edges were getting kind of dark so I had to take it out. Whipped up some homemade whipped cream sweetened with honey and vanilla extract. Fantastico!!
Absolute AMAZING!
We switched up a few things here and there… less butter, a bit of coconut oil Andy some applesauce.
Everyone LOVED IT!!
Definitely a keeper. Will play with it more … maybe try adding walnuts.
Thank you so much!!!
I just baked this and it’s absolutely AWESOME! Since I don’t own a 8′ spring pan, I used a 6′ one plus a ramekin. They both turned out perfectly after 25 minutes in the oven.
One question: I’ve always been scared to bake with honey. Some people say it must be consumed raw, since heated honey is toxic. What are your thoughts about this?
Thanks for the wonderful recipes, always! I’ve bought both your books and love them!
This cake has become one of my favorites! It doesn’t take alot of time to prepare with its 5 ingredients and it’s really really good!
Will definitely make this again!
Jenn from Montreal
i made this with maple syrup instead of honey and it was amazing. thank you.
This cake is d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!!! I used quebec maple syrup instead of honey served with fresh picked raspberries OMG we wanted to eat the whole cake. Total keeper. Thank you!!!
I was wondering if any ‘honey’ flovour comes through in the cake? I’ve never baked with honey and I was just curious ịf it does? Look amazing, by the way!
Thank you , for posting this recipe.I have a very serious allergy to sugar .
In terms of honey, buy the most neutral honey you can. I buy a local clover honey
because it has almost no honey type flavor, except of course being sweet
I added a couple shakes of cayenne pepper and an extra egg to this recipe it is
really great!
.
How doI add this to the Yum app?
I have no idea what that is… maybe you could print it for later?
Recipe looks great, how far in advance can I make it? It should be stored in frig, right?
well, this ROCKED and totally satisfied my cravings. I even put in 1/4 cup less honey and used cacao powder= extra rich goodness.
Thank you!
with gratitude–
This was delicious!! Thank you for sharing!!
Do you think I could use pure maple syrup instead of honey? My daughter cant have honey.
Possibly? Maple syrup is less sweet than honey, so you might try using 1/2 cup of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of coconut sugar for similar texture.
Megan,
Thank you so much for this recipe. It was fantastic!
I have been Gluten-Free, No Sugar for a little over a year. Honey is allowed because it comes in the form God created it 🙂 but not every recipe adapts easily to it. The holidays were making me miss my traditional Red Velvet Cake with it’s Cream Cheese icing. So, I made your cake using the butter option as I am not a big fan of coconut oil and topped it with Cream Cheese Icing made with honey. It was delicious and a hit at the party! Thank you bunches! I will be sharing your link!
Best flourless recipe! I used 70% chocolate, 1/2 cup powdered stevia and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Out of this world! Grown children loved too even though it was healthy!
Hi Megan ! I made your cake for Passover and it turned out delicious, in spite of the fact that I forgot to add the cocoa powder! It was extra moist ! I’ll bet a little coffee would be good added too ! God bless you ! Katy
If I don’t have a spring foam pan is there another option?
You could line a pan with parchment paper, so you can easily pull the finished cake out of the pan later!
This was SO good, I can’t bake to save my life and I DID IT! Easy, delicious, can’t wait to have another piece tonight! My husband loved it too! I didn’t have a spring foan pan so used a quiche dish greased with coconut oil.
IS it possible to bake this in a normal cake pan, and still take get it out with no complications, or would I have to freeze it first?
I would line a normal pan with parchment paper, so that you can guarantee that it will come out!
I substituted half of the butter with applesauce and it was a huge success! I served it to my family and they devoured it in a single meal (so thankfully it was healthy!)
what can l use instead honey?
Can this recipe be made without eggs and using condensed milk as a substitute? I have a relative allergic to eggs. Also, I’ve heard that coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate and that it’s good to add a half cup to chocolate cake recipes, so would coffee also be good to add to this torte recipe? Please reply ASAP as I want yo make this for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Thanks so much!
I haven’t tried that myself, so I couldn’t say with certainty on any other substitutions. I’ve made a vegan fudge cake here if you want to try something that I’ve already tested as egg-free: https://detoxinista.com/flourless-vegan-chocolate-fudge-cake/
Do you think I could use applesauce instead of the pumpkin puree?
Yes, texture-wise that will work, but I can always taste applesauce in the final result, so just keep that in mind.
Didn’t you have this recipe with only butter, chocolate and honey? I can’t find it and I loved it….help!! I was going to make it for Valentines Day in a heart shaped pan. 😫
This recipe has always called for 3 eggs, too. I now swap half of the oil for pumpkin, but you can use 1/2 cup of butter if you prefer and skip the pumpkin. The rest of the recipe is the same as it always has been!
I printed this recipe out and it is different from what you have posted. It doesn’t have the pumpkin puree. It’s title is Healthier Flourless Chocolate Cake. I need help and wanted to read thru your blog.
Also, i once had a print out of your chocolate hummus but i can no longer find. Do you know where i can find it? Ive searched your blog with no luck.
If this posted twice forgive me. My tablet said I duplicated it but it’s not updating and reflected so i did this one on my phone. 🙂
Yes, I updated this recipe sharing that I’ve used pumpkin puree in place of half the coconut oil, to help make it a little healthier. You can use a full 1/2 cup of coconut oil or butter if you prefer to leave out the pumpkin, though. That’s the only change I’ve made to the recipe, but the original option is still there for you. I don’t have a chocolate hummus recipe on my site, so that must have come from somewhere else. (Sounds good, though!)
Well, sorry. I use more of your recipes then any other so i thought it was yours. Lol. Could you come up with one. The ones i have use nut butters and i was trying to stay away from that. 🙂
can you use maple syrup instead of honey?
Probably! Maple syrup is slightly less sweet than honey, so the result will be a slightly darker chocolate flavor.
What other pan can we use. I can’t find a springform pan that’s not non stick !
I believe you had this cake without pumpkin purée before. I had made it several times, even remember how the picture of the cake looked like. Did you modify the recipe? I wonder if I make it with pumpkin puree, would I be able to taste it or is it added to the recipe just for texture? Thanks.
Yes, the original method is still here in the notes! Just use coconut oil if you don’t want to use the pumpkin puree, in the same amount. You can’t taste the pumpkin either way, I just use that now to reduce the saturated fat in this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
We substituted maple syrup for the honey and 1/2 cup butter in place of the coconut oil and pumpkin since we didn’t need to worry about dairy, just trying to avoid cane sugar. It was. Amazing. Thank you!
Hi. I don’t have any pumpkin puree and not enough coconut oil to replace it . Do you think I can put some mashed banana instead ?
Thanks so much! I love your receipes
Sure, it’s worth a shot! The banana flavor might come through a bit, so as long as that’s alright with you, the texture should be okay with that swap.
What did you use to make the icing for this cake?
This cake is so rich, it doesn’t need any icing! But you can find several frosting recipes here on my website if you need one.
Loved it! Made this for my hubby’s birthday with semi sweet dark chocolate since we have kids. My topping was puréed mixed berries heated with Agave then drizzled over just before we served. Huge hit with everyone
That sounds delicious with the berry topping! Glad it was a hit!! 🙂
What can i use in the place of pumpkin puree?
You can use coconut oil instead, or another puree– but keep in mind that another puree could change the flavor slightly. Butternut would be the most even swap, but applesauce or mashed banana will add their flavor to the cake.
Ridiculously good! I made it extra heavy, calorie-wise, because of adding a lot of ganache on top. I wonder if you can get away with even a little more applesauce (which I substituted for pumpkin purée) to replace some of the fat? I used some stevia in the raw and it’s still really high in calories! Thanks so much!
I’d like to use maple syrup instead of honey. any thoughts? Might use the 70% chocolate since the maple syrup might not be as sweet as honey.
I think using 70% chocolate sounds like a good plan with the maple syrup. Please let me know if you try it out!
This recipe is incredible! Honestly the most decadent and delicious flourless chocolate cake I’ve ever had (let alone made!) I also love that it doesn’t leave you feeling guilty or bloated because all the ingredients are healthy. Will definitely be making this again!
Very good! I used a bar of hershey’s special dark since that’s what I had on hand. Maybe will add a little bit of coffee the next time I try it to deepen the flavor. But overall it is a great chocolate cake that allows you to leave the guilt behind!
I tried this and was surprised by how rich and chocolaty it was with being so much healthier than the other recipes I had tried. I have a few ideas to try to see if I can make this a little more “weight-watchers” friendly. I will let you know how that turns out.
Solid recipe! I used 70% bittersweet chocolate and decreased the honey to 1/4 cup. I then dusted it with a tiny bit of powdered sugar to serve. It wasn’t super sweet but sweet enough for me. With my changes, and 12 servings instead of 16 (honestly, trying to cut 16 servings would be minuscule), it’s 133 calories per serving plus the powdered sugar, which maybe adds 2-3 calories. It’s very a flat cake but that’s ok by me.
I don’t see an indication of how big a serving is?
This nutrition information is for 1 of 16 slices.
Hi! Could I sub all cocoa powder for the baking chocolate? What would the ratio be for the 4 oz. chocolate substitute? THanks!
Wondering if I can use maple syrup instead of honey?
Am I right that I can use 1/2 cup butter instead of coconut oil and pumpkin?
Thank you! Sounds delicious!
Yes, you can definitely use butter instead of the coconut oil and pumpkin. I think maple syrup should work, too, but it’s slightly less sweet and might make the texture a little more sticky. Let me know if you give it a try!
Made the older version in update notes using butter to sub for pumpkin and coconut oil for a lunch with friends and it was a smash. Added a small scoop of coconut milk vanilla ice cream and it was scrumptious. Everyone wanted the recipe. Dense, chocolate flavor. Honey did not create taste of its own, only sweetened it. Perfect for no refined sugar friends. Absolutely loved it! Making it for Easter tomorrow.
Thank you Megan!
Thanks for the kind words, Angela. I’m glad the honey-sweetened version was a hit with your friends!
Has anyone tried ghee in place of butter?
Incredibly easy and very delicious! I made this as one of my deserts at Easter this year. It is very moist, had wonderful texture and is so full of flavor. There are so many ways you could top this off as well. Raspberries, whipped cream, nuts,Mexican chocolate would be amazing… so many ways but it’s also just heavenly as is. I’m not always a great cook/baker. I have good intentions but often fail. This dessert seems fool proof and requires few ingredients that I usually have on hand at all times so I can make it anytime. I did use a lower percentage of dark chocolate as that was all I could find at my store and it was just fine. My family loved it and my daughter texted me once she was home after Easter dinner and asked if I would make her one to take home for her very own! So of all the dishes served at Easter this Flourless Chocolate Cake was the star! thank you Megan, I have loved your recipes for years. You work very hard to make sure your recipes are not only healthier but taste amazing!
I have made this twice now, and both times everyone fought for the last piece! So delicious!!! And easy, too.