Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake
Updated April 25, 2016 
This recipe was given to me many moons ago when I visited some dear Spanish friends in Buenos Aires. It’s for the true chocoholic--very, very rich.
If kosher observance prevents you from serving a butter-based cake at the end of a meal, a good-quality margarine (not the soft-spread kind) can be substituted for the butter in the cake. When not making this cake for Passover, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour can be used in place of the potato starch. The cake freezes extremely well.
Cooking Methodbaking
CostModerate
Total Timehalf-day
Make Ahead RecipeYes
Kid FriendlyYes
OccasionCasual Dinner Party, Formal Dinner Party
Recipe Coursedessert
Dietary Considerationgluten-free, halal, kosher, peanut free, soy free, tree nut free, vegetarian
Mealdinner
Taste and Texturechocolatey, rich, sweet
Type of Dishchocolate cake, chocolate dessert, dessert
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter
- 1 cup raisins or dried currants
- ½ cup brandy or whiskey, warmed
- ½ pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate (about 70 percent cacao), cut into pieces
- 6 large eggs
- ½ cups superfine sugar
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Unsweetened whipped cream for serving, optional
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Use a little of the butter to grease a 10-inch cake pan.
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Place the raisins or currants in a bowl, add the warm brandy or whiskey, and set aside. Place the remaining butter and the chocolate in a saucepan and melt them over low heat. Stir. (The butter and chocolate can also be melted in a microwave oven for about 1 minute.)
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In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until well blended, pale, and creamy, about 4 minutes. Sift the potato starch and fold it in. Stir in the chocolate and butter mixture, then stir in the raisins or currants and brandy and the vanilla.
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Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until the cake has firmed up on top but a tester does not come out perfectly clean. It should be slightly underdone. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
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Remove the cake from the refrigerator and unmold it 1 hour before serving.
2009 The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Florence Fabricant
