Flourless Chocolate Cake

We had friends over New Year’s Eve for dinner, games and champagne.  I wanted to make a special, decadent dessert for this special evening.

Special, decadent AND gluten-free as well as dairy-free to accommodate the dietary needs of our guests.  I adjusted a recipe from the cookbook, Gluten Free and Easy by Robyn Russell.

• 14 TBSP dairy-free margarine, such as Fleishmann’s
• 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup light vegetable oil (I used canola)
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• powdered sugar for serving

Preheat oven to 350F.

Trace the bottom of a 9″ springform pan onto parchment paper, cut out the shape.

Grease the inside of the pan, including the bottom with dairy-free margarine.  Place the parchment circle in the bottom of the pan and grease it, too.

Melt the butter and oil over medium-low heat.

Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix egg yolks and sugar until thick.

Add the chocolate mixture and beat until fully combined.

In a clean glass or metal bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Place half of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and gently fold in.  This will be a bit difficult at first, but hang in there!  Add the rest of the egg whites and fold in until fully combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until the center is set.

Allow the cake to cool and fully set up in the pan.  Your cake will probably fall some and develop cracks in the surface–it’s supposed to look this way.  🙂  When fully cool, gently turn it out, remove the parchment from the bottom and place right side up on a serving plate.  Dust with powdered sugar prior to serving.  I placed a doily on top of mine before dusting to create this pretty pattern.

Ta-Da!  Beautiful, right?!

Fudge-like, dense, rich, perfect for a special occasion.

My guests were pleased!

Clementine cuties are wonderful this time of year, and perfect with this cake.  Ice cream would be lovely, or whipped cream, or coffee, or……another slice.

No need to wait for a friend with special dietary needs.  😉