Cook's Illustrated

The Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake

Published March 1, 1998.

Just three ingredients--whipped whole eggs, a good-quality semisweet chocolate, and butter--will yield dense, rich texture and true chocolate flavor.

The Problem

While all flourless chocolate cake recipes share common ingredients, the techniques used to make them vary, as do the results. You can end up with anything from a fudge brownie to a bittersweet chocolate soufflé.

The Goal

We wanted something dense, moist, and ultra-chocolatey, but with some textural finesse. We wanted a texture somewhere between a substantial marquise au chocolat--that dense, buttery, and just slightly aerated chocolate mousse with a characteristic dry but creamy texture--and a heavy New York-style cheesecake, which requires the mouth to work for just a second before the stuff melts and dissolves with sublime flavor. We wanted a flourless cake that tasted of pure chocolate, with a rich, velvety texture.

The Solution

Beat whole eggs into a foam, and gently fold in bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and strong coffee or liqueur. Bake in a water bath at a low temperature, and remove the cake from the oven when it reaches 140 degrees.

list of recipes
America's Test Kitchen

America’s Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.