Flourless stout chocolate cake is dense and fudgy, and would make a delicious dessert for a crowd! Stout beer and espresso powder are added to the batter to enhance the rich chocolate flavor. Top with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or whipped cream.
There are days that call for chocolate, and then there are some days where not just any chocolate will do. This flourless stout chocolate cake wholeheartedly falls into the latter variety.
Flourless chocolate cake is a decadent, rich treat all on its own, but add deep, dark stout beer to the batter as well as instant espresso powder and you have an extra special treat on your hands. This one has the holidays written all over it!
I didn't previously have a go-to flourless chocolate cake recipe, so I browsed a bunch before realizing that none encompassed everything I wanted to be going on here. The biggest thing was that I wanted to add stout beer to the batter, but was concerned about adding more than a small bit to a recipe that doesn't call for any liquid component other than eggs and melted butter. That is a surefire recipe for disaster.
The recipe I adapted this chocolate cake from called for the addition of water, so I felt comfortable subbing in stout beer without any hesitation. If you'd prefer not to use beer I'd say brewed coffee would be a great substitution. Of course, then it wouldn't be called 'stout' flourless chocolate cake. 😉
Recipe ingredients
I played around with the quantities of both the butter and chocolate, opting to reduce them both but also adding unsweetened cocoa powder to keep that chocolate flavor up. Flourless chocolate cake is definitely not a health food by any stretch of the imagination, but this cake was perfectly dense and rich without the extra butter and chocolate.
We have classic cake ingredients such as sugar, salt, and eggs, though more eggs than you might use in your go-to cakes. Six large eggs are used here.
And as for the espresso powder? While it's totally optional, I find that it amplifies the chocolate flavor in baked goods, and what's not to like about that?!
Step-by-step instructions
We're cooking this cake at a lower temperature: 300°F. Grease a round springform pan with butter, then dust it with cocoa powder.
Melt together the semisweet chocolate and unsalted butter, then let it rest to cool off for a bit. While that's cooling, whisk together the stout beer, sugar, and salt, and then the eggs.
What comes next is important: tempering the egg mixture. You'll want to add the melted chocolate/butter mixture to the bowl with the stout/egg mixture a little bit at a time while you whisk. This allows the egg mixture to heat up very gradually. Adding a hot mixture to eggs all at once risks cooking bits of the egg, which is most definitely not what we want going on in this cake.
After adding in the cocoa and espresso powders, pour out the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the edges have set. I recommend chilling this stout chocolate cake and serving cold.
Related recipes
Sour cream cheesecake is another recipe for your springform pan that has been a beloved family recipe for years. Learn the secrets to reliably baking a crack-less cheesecake without a water bath!
Chocolate strawberry lava cakes also bring RICH chocolate flavor with perhaps a deceptively easy method. This recipe yields four mini cakes and requires just a regular-sized muffin tin (no special pans).
Flourless Stout Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 14 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup stout beer
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan, and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder over bottom and sides. Shake the pan until the cocoa powder coats the buttered areas, discarding any excess loose powder.
- Add chocolate and butter to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 20 second intervals, whisking well after each interval, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together stout, sugar, and salt. Add eggs and whisk until combined.
- Pour a small drizzle of the melted chocolate/butter mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture as you whisk constantly. Go very slowly as to not cook the eggs. Continue pouring the chocolate/butter into the egg mixture until everything is combined, whisking the entire time.
- Whisk in the unsweetened cocoa powder and instant espresso powder.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 or so minutes, or until the edges have set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder before serving. This cake is best stored in the refrigerator and enjoyed cold!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition DisclaimerAdapted from allrecipes
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marcie says
This is one gorgeous flourless cake and I love the stout addition! This is definitely not an ordinary chocolate dessert -- it looks so delicious!