This flourless chocolate hazelnut cake is fudgy, intensely chocolatey, and naturally gluten-free, with toasted hazelnuts in every bite. The center sinks as it cools, and that's the best part: we fill it with dulce de leche and more toasted hazelnuts. No alcohol, no fuss, and it freezes very well. I made this cake with almonds for years. Then I swapped in toasted hazelnuts and never went back. They taste deeper, a little like the chocolate-hazelnut spread we all grew up with.
Looking for a classic almond version with a splash of coffee liqueur? My chocolate almond torte is the European showstopper, served with whipped cream and berries.
Flourless, gluten-free chocolate nut cake
Flourless cakes with melted chocolate are not hard to make, but you have to take into account small details that make all the difference.
This recipe is sweet but deeply flavored. Similar to the chocolate torte but without the alcohol and with toasted hazelnuts: deeply flavored and with that unmistakable combination of flavors.
As much as I love this chocolate hazelnut bundt cake, a flourless one is what I usually make for the holidays, given that they are fudgy and intense, and less laborious due to the simple topping and meant-to-be sunken middle. Sort of like my fantastic gluten-free hazelnut brownies, but in cake form and taller.
Why toasted hazelnuts?
Toasting is what makes this cake.
Raw hazelnuts taste flat and a little green; toasted ones turn sweet and nutty. You can buy already skinned hazelnuts, toasted or raw.
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Testing notes
Paula's baking tips that make a difference.
Chocolate: use your favorite dark semisweet chocolate for this recipe. I like Callebaut 54% chocolate wafers or Ghirardelli Premium baking bar.
When separating the eggs, not a single speck of egg yolk is allowed to get into the whites, so use a small bowl just for this, cracking each egg one at a time. And the bowl has to be squeaky clean. Otherwise, the egg whites won't rise as they should, and the cake will not be as light.
If using skin-on hazelnuts, toast them lightly and rub off the skins in a clean kitchen towel while they're warm. Not every bit will come off, and that's fine, but the more you remove, the less bitter the cake.
Grind them once they're completely cool. The sugar keeps them powdery. Grind too long, and you'll make hazelnut butter, which is not what we want here. Store-bought hazelnut flour works too.
Using the specified pan size is important. If you use a different pan, you will get a very different final cake. Especially if you use a smaller one, the cake will probably not bake fully in the middle, and the top and bottom will almost burn. If the pan is larger, the cake will be too short and will lack that fudgy quality.
How to make a flourless hazelnut chocolate cake
Meringue + chocolate
A meringue is made, and the melted chocolate and butter are mixed into it. Deflate the egg mixture as little as possible.
Always use a spatula when incorporating mixtures into a meringue or whipped egg whites, and do so with light, quick moves.
Nuts + light mixing
Add the hazelnuts to the chocolate meringue. I've added them before the chocolate on occasion, and it also works. As long as you don't overmix the whole thing, you'll be fine.
Baking the cake
It'll have a puffed, cracked top as you remove it from the oven. This is fine and happens to almost all of these cakes, where an airy chocolate mousse is baked.
Sunken middle
The middle of most flourless cakes sinks like in a soufflé. It is a baked mousse, after all. Besides, we want a fudgy center (I couldn't imagine someone who wouldn't), so we underbake it a little.
Just watch it deflate and know it all is as it should be.
Topping
My favorite is dulce de leche and toasted nuts.
The second runner-up would be whipped cream and berries, like in this chocolate torte. The third option would be dulce de leche and whipped cream, like the banoffee cake.
Can I use caramel instead?
Yes. A thick salted or unsalted caramel works the same way: chocolate, hazelnut and caramel is a classic European trio.
Let the caramel cool until it's spreadable but still glossy, then fill the center and add the hazelnuts. A thin caramel sauce will run off the sides, so cook yours a little longer or choose a thick store-bought one.
Variations
- Orange: add the zest of one orange to the batter.
- Spiced: a pinch of cinnamon or cardamom.
- Almonds: this cake started as an almond cake, and it still works with the same weight of almond flour.
Make ahead and freezing
The cake needs at least 4 hours in the fridge and keeps there, well wrapped, for up to 2 days before topping.
It freezes very well for up to a month: wrap in plastic, then foil, and add the dulce de leche (or caramel) after thawing.
Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (with Dulce de Leche)
Ingredients
- 7 ounces unsalted butter, scant 1 cup
- 7 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 ½ cups skinned and ground toasted hazelnuts, or toasted hazelnut flour
- 6 egg whites, at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 6 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
- 1 cup dulce de leche, thick caramel sauce or whipped cream, to serve
- ½ cup mixed nuts or hazelnuts, lightly toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330ºF (170ºC). To toast the hazelnuts, see Notes below.
- Butter or spray a 9-inch (24cm) round cake pan with a removable bottom and dust with fine bread crumbs, flour or cocoa powder.
- Melt 7 ounces semisweet chocolate and 7 ounces unsalted butter together (just like you do for brownies) in the microwave (15-second spurts, whisking well after each one) or over a double boiler without touching the water. Reserve.
- Have the rest of the ingredients measured and ready. In a large, clean and dry bowl (if using a stand mixer, use the bowl for this part), beat 6 egg whites with a pinch of salt until you have stiff peaks.
- With the same beaters (don't clean them) and in a separate large bowl, beat 6 egg yolks and 1 cup light brown sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and foamy.
- Fold in 1 ½ cups skinned and ground toasted hazelnuts into the chocolate mixture. Then add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolk mixture, mixing lightly with a spatula.
- Add the egg whites in 3 additions, mixing lightly with a spatula so as not to deflate them much. A few streaks of chocolate here and there are ok.
- Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top cracks and the surface feels quite firm. It will jiggle a bit in the center.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 2 days, well wrapped. This cake can be frozen for up to a month after it has completely cooled.
- Remove carefully onto the serving platter, fill the sunken center with 1 cup dulce de leche (or thick caramel) and top with ½ cup mixed nuts or hazelnuts.
Tisha says
This cake looks so rich and delicious! Love that there isn't flour used!
Heidy says
I am loving this flourless cake idea! Totally excited to make it for my best friend who is Gluten intolerant. I will be letting you know how it turned out soon.
Lisa says
Flourless chocolate cakes are my favorite (as I'm gluten-free), but you took it over the top with those toppings and that fudgy center. Yum!
Dannii says
What a beautiful cake. I love almonds in cakes.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
That looks sinfully decadent and inviting with caramel and nuts! happy new year, Paula.
Paula Montenegro says
Happy 2018 to you Angie!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Oh my does that look wonderful. I've pinned it and will make it for a special occasion.
Paula Montenegro says
Happy New Year Karen!
David says
Looks truly amazing, Paula! What a wonderful way to celebrate the New Year! Mark and I wish you all the best for 2018...thanks for your friendship; it’s a true gift!
Paula Montenegro says
Same here David! Wishing you both the best 2018!