As soon as we spotted this recipe in Ina Garten’s new book, Make It Ahead, we raced to it. Her desserts are always delicious, in our experience, and here is one that solves the problem if you have gluten-free eaters at your table. Ina uses renowned chef Thomas Keller’s gluten-free flour mix, called Cup4Cup. She says it’s “pure genius.” All we know is that our friends who are now making this say the cake is crazy good, gluten or no gluten.
Ingredients
- 19 ounces bittersweet chocolate such as Lindt, broken into chunks
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free flour Ina used Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 eggs extra-large, at room temperature, separated
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- ice cream coffee or vanilla, for serving
Servings:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Grease an 8-inch spring-form pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Place the one pound of chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Off the heat, immediately stir in the butter, flour, sugar, coffee granules, and salt with a rubber spatula. Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until they form soft peaks. Scrape the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold them in very carefully with a rubber spatula, just until combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 15 minutes exactly. (Be sure your oven temperature is accurate!)
- Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven, leaving the door slightly ajar. Allow the cake to cool in the oven for 1 hour. The cake will sink in the middle.
- Carefully release the sides of the pan and slide the cake onto a flat serving plate or cake stand. Place the 3 ounces of chocolate and the heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat just until the chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Add a drop of cream if the mixture is too thick to pour. Pour the chocolate onto the sunken part of the cake, leaving the edge unfrosted. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream.
Roz, we just doubled back to check; there is no typo in the amount of flour in Ina’s recipe. It is 1 tablespoon of Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour. Cheers! — Faith
So there are 4 cups + I tablespoon of flour?
No and I made the same mistake. Very confusing. It’s 0ne Tablespoon of a gluten free flour called Cup 4 Cup. It’s the brand name.
I have been able to find an 8 inch spring form pan so will use 9 inch and hope it works!
That should be fine, Chris, and be sure to check it frequently. Enjoy!
Faith
I have been unable to find an 8 inch spring form pan and am going to use a nine inch and bake for a little less time. Any comment?
That sounds right, Chris, but be sure to check it frequently. Enjoy!
Faith
Can I make this dessert in a pie plate instead? If so, would I leave in the oven for longer than 15 minutes?
Julie,
I would try it before Thanksgiving and begin checking it early. Unless you’re a brave cook who says, “If it doesn’t work out we’ll call it lava cake!” Cheers,
Faith
it sounds like it would bitter with only 1and 1,2T.
sugar for over a pound of bittersweet chocolate
Do you think I could make cupcakes with this?
Not sure. Part of what’s great about the cake is the sunken-in center where the melted chocolate goes after the cake cools a bit. A cupcake isn’t likely to get there, but if that’s where you’re headed, remember the general rule that a single layer cake recipe is likely to yield 12-15 cupcakes and you’ll want to start checking for doneness between 12-15 minutes. Good luck!
Can I make this a day ahead?
Ina’s recommendation is that the cake can sit at room temperature for up to 6 hours, so the day before might be a little too far ahead.
It’s a recipe in her Make it Ahead cookbook so I assume a day ahead should be fine. I might refrigerate it overnight after the 6 hours sitting out.
That always improves chocolate cakes.
Should this cake be made with bitter sweet baking chocolate or simply bitter sweet chocolate? It’s not clear. Thank you!
Since it doesn’t specifically say baking chocolate, go with the regular bittersweet chocolate. Ina lists Lindt (https://www.lindtusa.com/surfin-bittersweet-bar-8008).