Petite Flourless Chocolate Cake

By Kath Dedon

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I wanted a Petite Flourless Chocolate Cake.

You might remember when I made an Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake from Molly O’Neill’s One Big Table. It was so easy. It was fabulously chocolatey. And it was BIG. It’s supposed to serve 8 people, but it’s so rich I found that it could serve at least 12 people. I wanted that same great cake in a smaller version.

This very handy baking pan substitution chart shows that a 6-inch pan holds exactly half of the volume of the 9-inch pan I originally used. So I invested in the cutest little 6-inch cake pan.

The ingredients for the Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake were simple to cut in half. (I didn’t have to deal with things like 1½ eggs.) I was pretty sure it would work.

It worked beautifully! This Petite Flourless Chocolate Cake will definitely be one that I will make again when serving a small group of chocolate lovers! And I can’t wait to play around with other recipes to make other petite cakes in my new pan. Stay tuned…

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I used the same round serving platter for both cakes. You can see the difference in size.

My Petite Flourless Chocolate Cake

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My original Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake

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Petite Flourless Chocolate Cake

(Adapted from a recipe in One Big Table)

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When I made the original Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake I used sugar. This time I substituted maple sugar and it worked just fine. You can use whichever granular sweetener you prefer.

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(print the recipe)

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Serves 4 – 6

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1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus a tablespoon more for buttering the pan

1 tablespoon cocoa powder (For the pan. You can also use 1 Tbsp. sugar as in the original recipe, if you don’t have cocoa powder.)

1/2 cup sugar (100g) (or 100 grams – 1/2 cup – maple sugar)

7 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), broken into smaller pieces

4 large eggs

Parchment paper for the pan

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Ghirardelli’s 60% Cacao Chocolate is perfect in this cake!

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1. Preheat the oven to 350˚.

2. Use the extra tablespoon of butter to grease a 6-inch round cake pan. Use about 2 teaspoons of it to grease the pan. Then cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Put the paper in the pan and use the remaining teaspoon of butter to grease the paper. Sprinkle the cocoa powder (or a tablespoon of sugar) in the pan and shake it back and forth to cover the bottom. Pour out any excess.

Prepared 6-inch pan dusted with cocoa powder

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3. Melt the 1 stick of butter and the chocolate together in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Stir it constantly once it starts to melt. When it has all melted and blended together, remove from the heat and allow it to cool a bit.

4. Beat the eggs with a mixer until light. Add the sugar a bit at a time, mixing at medium speed for about 6 – 8 minutes. The mixture should be pale and fluffy.

5. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate and gently stir until well blended.

6. Pour into the prepared 6-inch cake pan.

7. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Check the cake after 30 minutes. The top should be a bit crusty(kind of like brownie tops)and the cake should feel firm. You can test it with an instant read thermometer. Put it in the center of the cake without touching the bottom of the pan. If the temperature is at least 140˚ the cake is done.

8. Cool the cake on a cake rack. When cool, run a knife along the side of the pan and turn the cake out on a serving plate.

9. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired, or simply dust with a bit of powdered sugar.

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