Baking Her French Cake without Flour

17 Sep, 2012

Print this Page

Written by Heather Riggleman

I must say I’m inspired more than ever to polish my baking & cooking skills alike. Earlier this summer, my husband challenged me in the world of culinary arts to learn to cook without setting something on fire. The challenge was spurred by this book. (Read about that article here)

My interest in cooking french was fueled to keeping trying after reading Jenna Weber’s new book White Jacket Required. I inhaled it, she wrote about my passions of food, running, and writing! She’s a blogger I follow and I’ve sort of developed an obsession with her site, mainly because she makes cooking look so easy. What more could a girl want in a good read, eh? 

Moving on! Refreshed by her story I decided to bake a cake made without flour. The photos aren’t as pretty but here’s the recipe and pictures from my adventure. And what about the taste? Rich, buttery with a sweet earthy flavor of almonds. When you’re craving chocolate, this is the cake you want to tantalize your taste buds. This recipe calls for 17 ounces of dark chocolate, you can use any kind–I used ghirardelli chocolate bars. 

Chocolate Almond Cake Recipe 

Unsalted Butter: 5 1/2 ounces chopped at room temperature

Dark Chocolate: 8 ounces chopped

Eggs 8 separated, (Place whites and yolks into two mixing bowls, you will be using both)

Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon

Sugar: 1 Cup

Unsweetened Coca Powder: 1/3 cup

Ground Almonds: 2 cups. (I used my coffee grinder).

Ganache (frosting)

Heavy Cream: 1 Cup

Dark Chocolate: 9 ounces chopped 

The How To’s of Baking a French Cake with No Flour….

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees and lightly grease two small round cake pans. 

Combine butter and chopped chocolate in a bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water (be sure base of bowl doesn’t touch the water). Stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir until smooth and well combined. 

Next combine egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Using electric beaters, whisk until the mixture is thick and pale. Add in the chocolate, stir until smooth. Add ground almonds and coca, again stir until smooth. 

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Stir in a 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and gently fold it over. Continue folding in the egg whites until the mixture is well combined. FOLD–Do NOT stir, trust me  

Pour mixture into the prepared pans and bake for 1 hour or until firm to the touch. Allow the pans to cool for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

The How To’s of Ganache

Add chopped chocolate to a bowl. Then add cream to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a rapid boil, add the cream to the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Refrigerate the ganache until it has cooled and begins to thicken.  Whisk it slightly and then begin frosting your cake. 

Step 1

Step 2: Separate the yolks from the whites. Add eggs, sugar and vanilla too.

Step 3: This is what your ground almonds and chocolate will look like when you begin mixing together.

Step 4 & 5: After whisking egg whites until peaks have formed, fold into the almond and chocolate mixture. Then pour into pans. I would show you my egg white peaks but the pictures blurred.

After cake has cooled and you've whipped up your ganache, frost and taste!

Tweet