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Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mesquite flour adds a wonderful accent to these oat and walnut studded chocolate chip cookies. If you’ve never baked with it, this is your encouragement

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If you’re looking for a unique and special chocolate chip cookie, this is the recipe. I developed a version of these for my book Super Natural Cooking circa 2007 and they’ve had a special place in my heart (and kitchen!) in the years since. If I were going to enter a cookie contest, these might very well be my entry. The flavor is that good. To make them requires tracking down one specialty ingredient, mesquite flour. I promise it is worth the extra effort. Mesquite flour is a wonderful, fragrant flour made from the ground-up pods of the mesquite tree. It has a slightly sweet and chocolaty flavor, with a touch of malt and smokiness. You can use it all sorts of things, far beyond these cookies, including pancake mixes, waffle mixes, oatmeal, and sweet quick breads.
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Ingredient Spotlight: Mesquite Flour

Chances are you’re new to mesquite flour, so here’s a bit about where it comes from. First thing, mesquite trees are very generous and play an important role in the lives of many native cultures in the Americas. They grow in a wide area ranging from the Southwestern United States all the way through Central and South America – the Sonoran desert, Chihuahuan Desert, Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico. If you’ve driven through the Southwest, you’ve seen a lot of mesquite. And, as you can see from this list, mesquite are drought-tolerant and thrive in hot and arid climates. They are also remarkably resilient plants that give back in many ways and contribute life-sustaining properties to the communities they are a part of. Mesquite also nitrogen fixes, so it gives back to the land in that way as well.

Different parts of the plant are used for different purposes. Mesquite wood has long been used as fuel or shelter. Beyond that, flour ground from mesquite pods are an important food source, celebrated for being nutrient-rich profile, contributing fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates to traditional diets. The plant has medicinal uses as well as ceremonial. So, mesquite flour, a wonderfully delicious ingredient plays a rich and important role in many cultures.
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Where to Buy Mesquite Flour

Sourcing mesquite flour will take a bit of effort. Look for products that are sustainably harvested preferably using traditional methods. You want 100% mesquite flour with no other added ingredients or flavoring. If you roadtrip through the Southwest, keep an eye out at local markets and farmers’ markets for bags of mesquite flour. This is where you’re likely to find locally produced products.  Unfortunately, the ones I’ve picked up in the past that way don’t have active websites. This Peruvian mesquite flours mentioned below have been reliably good, and are easy to get. Please let me know in the comments if you are using local mesquite flour and can point me to a site to order.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

What if I don’t have Mesquite Flour?

If you don’t have mesquite flour, substitute 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour OR all-purpose flour in its place; your chocolate chip cookies will still turn out chocolate chewy and fantastic.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

How To Freeze Cookies:

Scoop cookie dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze for an hour or so and then transfer the frozen dough balls to a container or freezer bag. The will keep, frozen, for a month or two. Bake at the regular the temperature, adding a couple minutes to the overall baking time. You can see them arranged to be frozen in the photo above.

Below you can see the cookies ready to go into the oven. I use a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop to get uniform cookies. This recipe makes a lot of cookie dough. The motto here is bake some, freeze some. 
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Pro-tip

Avoid over-baking these cookies. The dough is darker that cookies made exclusively with unbleached all-purpose flour. Because of this, it can be a bit trickier to tell when they’re fully baked. Look at the edges of the cookies, where the dough touches the pan. You want that to be nice and golden.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet
Lastly, lets talk about add-ins. These cookies are loaded with chocolate chunks and boosted with walnut pieces. I feel like the chocolate is key here, and I love the chocolate walnut combination. But I encourage you to experiment with other combinations. A bit of espresso powder might be nice. Or maybe some sort of toasted coconut version.
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Related Recipes

Here’s where you can find all the cookie recipes. I love chocolate chip cookies and you can find a number of different takes on them including David Lebovitz’s Great Chocolate Chip Cookies, Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (best ice cream sandwich cookies), Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies, this Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, and these Healthful Double Chocolate Cookies.

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Party chocolate pie

My grandma has lived a long life, and as such, she has decided to retire from the kitchen. She’s still a gracious hostess, however, and whenever I visit she’ll ask…
Source

My grandma has lived a long life, and as such, she has decided to retire from the kitchen. She’s still a gracious hostess, however, and whenever I visit she’ll ask...

Source

Smoked Chocolate Mousse

A deep, concentrated dark chocolate mousse made with gently smoked chocolate. I’ve used my stovetop smoker for many things, but chocolate didn’t occur to me until recently.

Continue reading Smoked Chocolate Mousse on 101 Cookbooks

Gently smoking chocolate is amazing. The fat in the chocolate is receptive to whatever you’re using for smoking – I’ve used cherrywood, applewood, hickory, and rosemary in the past. The trick is maintaining those wonderful smoky notes when you take the next step. I haven’t had much luck using smoked chocolate in cakes and cookies, but when you use it in more direct (and concentrated) desserts like pudding and this chocolate mousse, it can be a delightfully surprising game-changer. 
Smoked Chocolate Mousse in a Small Glass

How We Got Here

The road to this chocolate mousse recipe wasn’t linear.  On a whim, I decided to smoke chocolate in my donabe & it blew my mind. I smoke all sorts of things in the ibushi gin (smoker donabe) – tomatoes, veg, nuts, hardboiled eggs, tofu, etc. But the first time I tried smoking chocolate was this summer. I used Guittard 72% (because I almost always buy Guittard) and the chocolate ended up tasting subtly smoked but also like dark caramel was threaded in. I was blown away. My first idea was to use it in basic molten chocolate baby cakes, but that was a big fail. The flavor just baked out. 
Smoked Chocolate Mousse in a Small Glass From the Side

Serendipity

Around the same time, I was chatting with Amy Guittard, telling her what I was doing & she asked me to be part of a holiday promo campaign along with Sylvie from Just Date (who I’m also a big fan of from my San Francisco days). So here we are. I started thinking about where the smoked chocolate might really shine. I ended up developing this smoked chocolate mousse recipe & love, love, love it. You can see the smoker in action here. The chocolate mousse ended up being a great vehicle, but I can also imagine chocolate frosting, a thick hot chocolate drink, or maybe a smoked chocolate fondue working beautifully as well. I used Guittard 72% Sante Dark Chocolate Chips made with coconut sugar and Just Date organic date sugar. If needed, you can substitute another chocolate (shoot for 60% – 80% cacao), and granulated cane sugar will also work.

Smoking Chocolate

If you don’t have access to a stovetop smoker, no problem, an unsmoked version has long been a family favorite. This is the stovetop smoker donabe (ibushi gin) I use:  The main thing to be considerate of is strength. You’re much better off under-smoking ingredients versus overdoing it. Taking good notes has been helpful. As I experiment I make note of what is being smoked, the wood source, timing and “notes to self” for next time.

Smoked Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Make-ahead Chocolate Mousse

This is the perfect make-ahead dessert, and it’s best when you make it a day ahead of time. It’s the perfect dessert for holidays or when you’re having friends over. You need time for the mousse to set and can do everything in the days before serving. Serve straight from the refrigerator.

Lastly, as noted below, this recipe does feature raw egg* The standard disclaimer recommends children, pregnant women, the elderly, and anyone with an immune system disorder should avoid eating uncooked egg because of salmonella risk.

More Chocolate Recipes

There are a lot of chocolate recipes on the site, so have a look around. A few favorites include these all-time fave chocolate brownies, chocolate puddle cookies, and this flourless chocolate cake

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Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake

This is exactly what you want when you’re craving a homemade chocolate cake. The chocolate factor is deep and strong. The cake itself is rich, moist, and tender.

Continue reading Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake on 101 Cookbooks

What you see here is the Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake. The chocolate factor is deep and strong. The cake itself is rich, moist, and tender. It’s exactly what you want when you’re craving a homemade chocolate cake – an ace in that regard.

Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

I love a beautiful, frosted, homemade cake like no one else, but only bake them now-and-then. Because, cake. If it’s there, I want to eat it. All of it. More often than not, I throw together quick and easy loaf cakes (like this, this, and this) and call it a day. But a devil’s food cake like this one, moist with rich chocolate flavor, is special. And worth the extra effort!

Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

Inspiration

I brought back a beautiful brass cake server from Simon Marks in Jaipur, and because my birthday was just around the corner, and because Claire Ptak’s Violet Bakery Cookbook was winking at me, I pulled my favorite mixing bowl from the shelf, and checked to see if I had enough buttermilk. The devil’s food cake was meant to be, I had all the ingredients on hand, and shy of the buttermilk, you probably do too.

Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

Devil’s Food Cake Finishing Touch

The frosting here is Claire’s Marshmallow Icing, also in the same beautiful book. It’s billowy, sweet, vanilla-flecked, and a compelling alternative to buttercream. You’ll want to put it on the cake, and everything else edible in your life. It’s a frosting that pairs beautifully with devil’s food cake. I also found myself dipping berries into it, and orange segments, and my fingers. The marshmallow icing reminded me a bit of Simon’s incredible cannoli filling at Caffé Palladio. So so so so good and a wonderful tie-in to my brass server! 

Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

More Chocolate Inspiration

Lastly, if you’re looking for other amazing chocolate recipes to try, this flourless chocolate cake is a favorite, and you can’t go wrong with these brownies.

Continue reading Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake on 101 Cookbooks

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

From The Miller’s Daughter cookbook, these chocolate-flecked cookies are made with chickpea flour, tahini, and brown sugar for a brilliant twist on peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. The texture is crisp at the edges and soft-centered with oozy puddles of chocolate throughout.

Continue reading Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies on 101 Cookbooks

When a cookbook author uses a headnote to tell you to bookmark a page, I’ve learned to do it. That’s exactly how I found myself baking these brilliant Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies. Emma Zimmerman enthusiastically included the recipe in her new cookbook, The Miller’s Daughter: Unusual Flours & Heritage Grains: Stories and Recipes from Hayden Flour Mills. The cookies are made with chickpea flour, tahini, and brown sugar for a brilliant twist on peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. The texture is crisp at the edges and soft-centered with oozy puddles of chocolate throughout.
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

The Miller’s Daughter

I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Emma’s new book before it was released. Emma and her father run Hayden Flour Mills on the outskirts of rural Phoenix, Arizona where they champion rare, near-extinct heritage flours and ancient grains. If you’ve only ever baked with all-purpose white flour, exploring the world of grains and flours like the ones Emma and her father grow and mill can be a complete game-changer. Creatively, it opens up a world of flavor and depth. Environmentally, growing these grains improves crop diversification and reduces mono crops. And, eating a diverse range of grains and pulses helps to keep your microbiome happy. So, big wins on many fronts.

The Miller’s Daughter cookbook has chapters on: White Sonora, Heritage Bread Wheat, Farro, Barley, Einkorn, Corn, Durum, Chickpeas, Oats, and Rye.
The Miller's Daughter Cookbook
We were heading east last month with the Airstream and my hope was that maybe we could visit Emma and the mill as we would be in the general vicinity of Phoenix. But the winds were SO BAD the whole time we were towing that we had to drive extra early in the mornings when the winds were calm and stayed parked as much as possible aside from that. It made “winging-it” with our schedule difficult. And although I didn’t get to congratulate Emma in person, she was kind enough to send me the book which arrived shortly after we got home. If you love baking and cooking with unusual flours, whole grains, and the like as much as I do, I suspect you’ll love this book. The story of how their mill came to be is an inspiration for anyone thinking about starting a passion-driven business in the food space. Also, Emma’s dress game is exceptionally strong.
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Marble Counter with Drinking Glass and White Plate

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies sit in the chickpea chapter, and rival some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had. They’re sophisticated on the flavor front, and when baked to golden-edged perfection, the texture is a journey in itself. You get a bit of snap at the edges once the cookies have cooled, and dense chewiness as you work toward the center of the cookie. If you love a good chocolate chip cookie, I have to second Emma’s sentiment and encourage you to give these a go.
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Parchment-lined Baking Sheet

A Couple Tips

  • Chocolate: Use a good dark chocolate chip here, or chunks. I used Guittard 63% extra dark chocolate baking chips, and they were just right. I don’t love “perfect” chips in my cookies, so I gave them a quick chop before folding into the batter. Bingo.
  • Freezing: These cookies freeze well. So, if you end up wanting to bake a bunch and save some for later just set them out on a counter to come back up to room temperature. They also bake beautifully from frozen dough, just tack on a few extra minutes to your baking time.
  • Size: Emma bakes these bite-sized, using 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie. After a few batches, I’ve landed on 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie as my preferred size for this recipe. It’s the size of my favorite cookie scoop, and gives me the texture I like in a cookie like this. Play around & experiment!

Cookie Ingredients Arranged on Counter

Links and Inspiration

If you’re looking for more inspiration and ideas of how to explore these amazing flours and grains, here are a few links to point you in the right direction.

Freshly Baked Cookies on a Plate

Please let me know if you make these! Or if you try any other recipes from Emma’s book. The next recipe I’m going to make is the Saffron Strawberry Galette with Messy Rye Crust, and then I plan to jump into a few of the savory recipes. If you’re looking for more after baking these, here’s where all the cookie recipes live. Happy baking!

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Incredible Chocolate Desserts

This article is from Delicious Everyday.
Chocolate is king when it comes to dessert flavors. This list of incredible chocolate desserts has everything from macarons to cakes to brownies—everything you need for a delicious dessert.
This content …

This article is from Delicious Everyday.

Chocolate is king when it comes to dessert flavors. This list of incredible chocolate desserts has everything from macarons to cakes to brownies—everything you need for a delicious dessert.

This content is copyrighted protected by DeliciousEveryday.com.

©2017 Delicious Everyday.

All content in this feed (including photographs and text) are copyrighted to Delicious Everyday and may not be republished in part or full without written permission and appropriate credit. Please contact me for republication or syndication rights.

If you suspect copyright infringement please contact me.

Aran’s Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies

From Aran Goyoaga’s new baking book, these buckwheat & chocolate crinkle cookies are spiked with almond butter, gluten-free, and the perfect cross between a brownie and a cookie.

Continue reading Aran’s Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies on 101 Cookbooks

Many of you know that I consider Aran Goyoaga a close friend and colleague. We first messaged each other over a decade ago, and made an effort in the years since to get to know each other. We’ll meet up if we’re in the same city, and travel together on occasion. I love hearing about what Aran is working on and enjoy catching glimpses of her work-in-progress. She works on a lot of cool (beautiful!) projects, but recently she has been writing and photographing a book that is exceptionally close to her heart. A baking book.  Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
Cannelle Et Vanille Bakes Simple is the culmination of Aran’s deep knowledge of baking. She mailed me an early copy of the book and I walked straight to the oven and dialed it to pre-heat. Cookies were going to get baked, pronto. I’ll tell you more about the book down below (and share some pics), but the first thing you need to know is that these puddles of fudge-y goodness were amazing. They’re her Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies, and Aran says about them, “…these cookies are crispy and gooey at the same time- a cross between a brownie and a cookie.”
Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
The flavor! I love the chocolate-buckwheat combination which adds depth and dimension working alongside a good amount of brown sugar. They’re delicious. If you rarely explore the realm of flours beyond general all-purpose flour (and want to!), these cookies would be a great place to start. Also, if you’re looking for a great gluten-free cookie recipe to take for a spin, these fit the bill. They were the first thing I baked and were much loved at the potluck I took them to.
Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies

Variations // Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: 

  • Double Chocolate Fennel-Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: Aran makes her cookies with a teaspoon or so of crushed fennel seeds. I couldn’t find my fennel seeds (in any of my seven spice drawers LOL), so we went for straight chocolate & buckwheat for this round. Though I imagine the anise-scented fennel seeds with the chocolate would be wonderfully fragrant and special.
  • Espresso Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: A bit obvious, but if you love a coffee-chocolate combination add a tablespoon of finely ground espresso beans with the cocoa powder. 
  • Black Cocoa Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: I can imagine replacing 1 of the 3 tablespoons of cocoa called for in this recipe with a black cocoa, making note, and dialing it up from there if you love the richness of black cocoa as much as I do.

Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
Below are a few snapshots of the interior of Cannelle Et Vanilla Bakes Simple. The photography is stunning, as is the beautiful book design. I’ll weave in some thoughts between some of the spreads below.
Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
Who is this book for? This is the book I would buy for anyone wanting one fantastic, substantial deep dive into gluten-free baking. It’s all here. You’re covered on the sourdough front. GF Breads, baguettes, brioche, bagels, babkas? Check. Cakes, pie dough, scones, shortbread, thumbprints? All there. I also love the inclusion of a holiday baking section as the final chapter in the book. Linzertorte! Hot cross buns! Rugelach! Challah! Alternately, if you’re a baker wanting to explore the wonderful realm of baking with alternative flours you’ll find much inspiration here as well.
Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
Cannelle Et Vanilla Bakes Simple will be available October 26, 2021 and my pro-tip here is this – if you think this is a book you might want to give as a holiday gift, pre-order it now. I suspect it will sell fast. I’m not just saying that as a friend of Aran’s, I’m saying it as someone who is buying multiple copies to give to friends and family with gluten-sensitivity because it covers so much in a beautiful package.
Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
Beyond the book, if you’re interested in more Aran goodness you’re in luck. She has a fantastic Instagram account, and you can keep track of her events and new projects on her site. Aran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle CookiesAran Goyoaga's Chocolate Rye Crinkle Cookies
Before I sign off, just know that there is a lot of chocolate in the archives, and plenty of gluten-free recipes as well. Here’s where you can find more chocolate recipes, as well as lots of cookie recipes: Don’t miss these favorites: my all-time favorite brownies, this flourless chocolate cake, please please please make this chocolate pudding, and don’t miss out on this chocolate devil’s food cake. 

Continue reading Aran’s Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies on 101 Cookbooks

Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

Kim Boyce’s Rosemary Olive Oil cake is incredibly moist, golden-crumbed, flecked with rosemary, and dotted throughout with big and small chocolate chunks.

Continue reading Rosemary Olive Oil Cake on 101 Cookbooks

This is one of my favorite cakes of the past ten years. It’s a rustic, incredibly moist, golden-crumbed olive oil cake. Flecked with rosemary, and dotted throughout with big and small chocolate chunks you’re looking at a perfect picnic treat. It’s one of those cakes that is both distinctive and memorable in an understated way and a breeze to make. We have Kim Boyce to thank for the recipe, and you might remember it from when I originally posted it here after Kim released Good to the Grain in 2010.
Olive Oil Cake Recipe

What Makes this Olive Oil Cake Special?

The rosemary is the wild card factor here. And it’s so good. It heats up in the oven as the cake is baking and  permeates the cake in a subtle but steady way, not at all overpowering. The other thing I love about this cake is that it is such a breeze to make. You’re looking at ten minutes tops to get it in the oven. This is perfect when you’re trying to pull things together for a road trip, or picnic, or flight.

Why are Olive Oil Cakes so Good?

There are a number of reasons people love cakes made with olive oil in place of butter. You tend to get a nice, even crumb with olive oil cakes. But, in my opinion, you really see the difference a day or two after baking. Olive oil cakes tend to stay beautifully moist. Olive oil is fattier than butter with no water factor. There’s a theory that the percentage of water in butter interacts with the flour in a cake batter to form more gluten strands. This results in a more structured and less tender cake. Olive oil cakes are also great for people who forget to plan ahead. With butter cakes you’re often waiting for the butter to come up to room temperature. Not necessary when you’re baking with olive oil.
Olive Oil Cake Recipe

Tweaks and Variations

I’ve made a few tweaks to Kim’s recipe over the years, and you can see them integrated into the recipe below. Most are stylistic more than anything. I converted the recipe into weights for the scale-based bakers. I also decided I wanted more chocolate visible on top, and a bit of a sugary top crust. What about pan size? I wanted to bake it in a vintage baton cake pan I found in Portland a few years ago (my $1 pan!), and aside from a slightly longer baking time, it was no problem. Feel free to experiment with different pans or muffin tins, but adjust your baking pans accordingly.
Olive Oil Cake Recipe

This  one of those perfect picnic, travel, or lunchbox cakes. I can’t believe it has been over a decade since I originally highlighted it here, but I love that it is still part of my repertoire. Xo Kim & congrats on the much deserved James Beard Award! xx -h

For more cake recipes, be sure to try this flourless chocolate cake, this chocolate pudding, or for a real chocolate jolt, make these chocolate brownies.

Continue reading Rosemary Olive Oil Cake on 101 Cookbooks

Flourless Chocolate Cake

If you’ve never baked a flourless chocolate cake, please consider this serious encouragement. Not much of a baker? This is the cake that can change your mind. It’s a classic. Nearly every great baker I know has a version in their repertoire. Likely because it’s relatively simple to make, uses a short list of ingredients, […]

Continue reading Flourless Chocolate Cake on 101 Cookbooks

If you’ve never baked a flourless chocolate cake, please consider this serious encouragement. Not much of a baker? This is the cake that can change your mind. It’s a classic. Nearly every great baker I know has a version in their repertoire. Likely because it’s relatively simple to make, uses a short list of ingredients, and is a legit showstopper.

Flourless Chocolate Cake on a Piece of Parchment Paper
The magic of a flourless chocolate cake is the way it billows and expands as it bakes, then collapses onto itself once out of the oven. As it continues to cool the top sets and crusts a bit like meringue, and the center settles into the consistency of a sliceable chocolate mousse. I like to fold extra chocolate chunks into the batter just before baking for extra dense little pockets of chocolate. Once you get the basics of this cake down, you can use this recipe as a jumping off point for endless variations, and I talk through some of those down below.Close up photo of a Flourless Chocolate Cake next to a Knife

Let’s Talk Technique //
What is a Flourless Chocolate Cake?

The formula for many flourless chocolate cakes, as well as fallen chocolate soufflé cakes, is similar. Recipes generally call for little or no flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate, and a fat (for example olive oil, butter, coconut oil, etc.). The technique goes something like this: melt the chocolate, stir in the fat, sugar, and egg yolks. Fold in the whipped and sweetened egg whites, then bake. The cake blooms as the air bubbles in the meringue expand in the oven heat. It falls once out of the oven, as the temperature drops. The resulting cake is woozy with melted chocolate, with a hint of the collapsed crust. 
 A Slice of Flourless Chocolate Cake on a Small White Plate

Flourless Chocolate Cake – What’s The Best Type of Pan to Use?

The main thing you need to know here is that the cake you’re baking is quite delicate. You can’t turn it out like a traditional crumb cake or it will likely break apart. This leaves you with a couple options. Many people (myself included until recently) will bake this style of cake in a springform pan. It works great. 

I used springform until, I noticed Aran Goyoaga lines her standard cake (non-springform) pan with a big piece of parchment for this style cake. The paper hangs over the edges of the pan (see below), and you can lift the cake from the pan using the paper. It gives the cake a rustic vibe and you can serve it right on the paper – a detail I love. I almost always go the full parchment paper route with this cake now. But you can make the call.

Cake pan lined with a Piece of Parchment Paper border=
Parchment-lined cake pan pictured above.
Cake Pan filled with Batter before Baking
Cake batter in pan prior to baking (pictured above). And the cake immediately after removing from the oven (pictured below).
Cake in Pan Fully Baked Sitting on Counter

Also, What Size Pan will Work?

Unless you’re making baby cakes, the standard size pan for this cake seems to be 9-inches, round. It’s what nearly everyone uses, probably because everyone that bakes has a 9-inch cake pan, so recipe writers tend to default to 9-inch. That said, I bake this most often in my 8-inch pan (see photo). It’s always cutting it close, but the smaller pan delivers a cake that is slightly more deep-dish and fudge-y. I’m writing the recipe for 8-inch pan, but if you’re using 9-inch just reduce the baking time by five minutes to 35-ish minutes. 
Close up photo of Flourless Chocolate Cake with a Slice Cut from It

Flourless Chocolate Cake Variations

The recipe I’m posting below is for a really amazing, straight-forward, flourless chocolate cake. It’s the straight shot, no tweaks or extra flavor frills. The base recipe – good chocolate, eggs, olive oil, salt, and sugar — is wonderful as-is. In fact, I love it like this and don’t think it needs a thing aside from a flop of barely whipped cream on the side. But! It’s so much fun to play with variations, and I’m including this list of different directions I’ve taken it over the years. 

  • Flourless Chocolate Cake with Salted Buttermilk Whipped Cream: Whip one cup of heavy cream until it thickens and begins expand. Gradually whip in 3 tablespoons buttermilk, granulated sugar to taste, and a small pinch of salt. Serve dolloped  next to your cake. 
  • Espresso Flourless Chocolate Cake with Boozy Whipped Cream: Add 1 tablespoon of espresso powder to your melted chocolate and proceed with the recipe of the recipe as written. Gradually add a bit of Kahlua, Bourbon, or Dark Rum and sugar (to taste) to heavy cream as you are finishing whipping it.
  • Flourless Chocolate Cake with Lemon Olive Oil: Use a lemon olive oil in place of the olive oil called for. You can add lemon zest to the cake batter and whipped cream as well. And a finishing drizzle of lemon olive oil before serving doesn’t hurt either.
  • Flourless Browned Butter Chocolate Cake: You can use melted butter in place of the olive oil if you like, you can also use beautifully aromatic, nutty browned butter.

Close up photo of Flourless Chocolate Cake with a Slice Cut from It
And a few more ideas!

  • Flourless Rose Chocolate Cake: A bit of rose water (2 teaspoons) is a nice addition to the cake batter. You can also add a small splash to the whipped cream. In either case, some rose waters are strong than others so go easy the first time around and make note.
  • Spicing up the Powdered Sugar: I love a dusting of powdered sugar as the finishing touch on this cake. You can add spices and fragrance to the powdered sugar as well. A bit of cinnamon, cloves, freshly grated nutmeg, espresso, etc. I keep some rose geranium leaves in a bag of powdered sugar for a couple days, remove, and the remaining sugar is beautiful fragrant. Have fun getting creative!
  • Nut-kissed Flourless Chocolate Cake: Add  2-3 tablespoons of ground, toasted, almonds (or other favorite nut) to the melted chocolate and proceed with the recipe. You’ll see this in many fallen chocolate cake recipes. And, if you’re going to add the ground nuts, give a boost with a tablespoon on almond extract as well
  • Black Cocoa Flourless Chocolate Cake: I’ve had in my notes forever to incorporate 1/4 cup of black cocoa powder into the melted chocolate mixture. This would lend that incredible black cocoa flavor I love. But I haven’t tested it. Throwing it out there in case any of you want to beat me to it!

Marble Table with Flourless Chocolate Cake and Two Plates with Slices of Cake
You can read more about the origins of the flourless chocolate cake, or torta tenerina, in this Florence Fabricant article from 2016, Flourless Chocolate Cake Finds an Ancestor in Italy.

I hope this cakes finishes off as many great meals on your end as is has on mine! And if you want the chocolate parade to continue, there is always my all-time favorite brownie recipe, this Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake, or the perfect chocolate pudding.

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Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake

A 100% rye flour version of Benjamina Ebuehi’s Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake from The New Way To Cake. It’s everything you want in a cake. The chocolate notes are deep, the crumb perfectly moist, and the salted tahini icing? Something I didn’t know I needed in my life until now.

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I baked a 100% rye flour version of Benjamina Ebuehi’s Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake yesterday, and it’s everything you want in a cake. It is from her book The New Way to Cake, the chocolate notes are deep, the crumb perfectly moist, and the salted tahini icing? Something I didn’t know I needed in my life until now. The tahini rounds out the sweetness of the sugar in the icing. Fragrant sesame notes come to life as you whisk the flavors into balance with a generous pinch of salt. It’s so good.

Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake
There are a lot of reasons to love The New Way To Cake — the range of beautiful signature cakes, the minimalist book design, the naturally-lit photos by Holly Wulff Petersen — but her celebration of flavors close to my heart is what initially attracted me to it – hibiscus, chamomile, citrus, and chocolate all represent in unique and delightful ways.

A Bit More About Benjamina

She’s a London-based author, baker, food stylist & recipe developer, and she has been involved in some great projects since her appearance on The Great British Bake Off a few years back. You can follow Benjamina on Instagram. She also works in an ambassadorial capacity with Luminary Bakery (read about them!), and co-founded The Sister Table. And, if her use of tahini is what caught your attention today, have a look at the Necatrine, Tahini & Hazelnut Pavlova, on her blog. Or this Tahini Granola

Benjamina Ebuehi's The New Way To Cake

The New Way To Cake

Before we jump into the Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake, a few more notes related to The New Way to Cake. The book is 160 pages in length, soft-back, with sixty cake recipes. It has a premium feel, and would make a nice gift for any baker in your life. The main sections are Nuts & Caramel, Spices, Chocolate, Citrus, Floral, and Fruit. The two recipes I’ve earmarked to bake next: Hibiscus Buttermilk Cakes, and then a Chocolate Guinness Bundt with Yogurt Glaze.Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake

Benjamina’s Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake

The two main components here are a coffee-bolstered, cocoa-based chocolate cake, and the salted tahini icing/frosting. You can make either component a day ahead of time if needed. Although, I should note that, generally speaking, I like to frost cakes the day of serving. Up to that point, keep the cake covered (after cooling completely) and, if needed, rewhip the icing before using.
Salted Tahini Icing

A Rye Flour Swap

I made a few alterations to Benjamina’s cake out of necessity (different pan / alternate flour) & the good news is it baked up wonderfully. All-purpose flour can still tough to come by right now, and I keep a lot of rye flour on hand. I had a hunch that a rye flour swap would be good here – so I went for it. 100% rye. Didn’t hold back. So good! I think people worry that going an aggressive whole-grain flour swap will result in tough, dry cakes and muffins. And quite honestly, that can often be the case. But this worked nicely – have a look at the slice down below! So tender. If you’re apprehensive, go with all-purpose flour, or you can do half rye, half all-purpose flour. But there’s something that happens in the intersection of the rye, coffee, and cocoa, that is really nice.Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake
One slice of Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake

Benjamina Ebuehi's Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake from The New Way to Cake

Let’s Talk Pans

Per my mention up above – I didn’t have the three 6-inch cake pans Benjamina used to create the stunner cake pictured in her book (above). But you all know I have an endless collection of bundt pans. So that’s what I used. I baked the batter in a single 9-inch bundt pan. Buttercream wasn’t going to work with the ridged cake, so I did a salted tahini icing that I could pour over the bundt shape cake, in place of the tahini buttercream version in the book. No bundt pan? My sense is you can get away with baking in a single 13×9 pan, or two 8-inch rounds as well (adjusting the timing, of course). A long way of saying, don’t be deterred if you don’t have the “correct” pan. Bake until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
Chocolate Fudge & Tahini Cake
And a last little side note – I’ve been trying to add weekly favorites links to my newsletter more regularly – articles, books, cookbooks I’m excited about, recipes to try, products I love, or new discoveries in general. So, instead of including them here in “Favorites Lists” on the site, you’ll be able to get them there, along with the heads up on new recipes I’m highlighting. I’ve been sending newsletters out once a week, on Saturday mornings. xx -h.

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