Happy Monday everyone! Today I am sharing a Chocolate Loaf Cake recipe that I made over the weekend. This is actually a flourless chocolate cake so even better if you are gluten-free! Do you ever have those days where you just need chocolate?! Looking back at my blog, you will find that I am quite the chocoholic! If you don’t believe me here a few other chocolate recipes that you can find on Style Waltz:
Vegan Chocolate Espresso Torte
Chocolate Cream Cheese Berry Tarte (think I need to make this ASAP!)
Copycat Emmy’s Organics Cookies Recipe
Barefoot Contessa’s Brownie Tarte
Believe me now?! This chocolate loaf cake is super simple to throw together. The chocolate ganache topping is so yummy and I won’t tell if you put an extra dollop on your slice! 🙂 I cannot take full credit for the recipe as I saw a similar version in the Bon Appetite magazine this month. As I read the recipe, I realized I could make it slightly healthier by removing the processed sugar they added and substituting coconut sugar. I also used dark chocolate instead of the semi-sweet chocolate that their recipe called for. These 2 substitutions really helped bring the sugar content down and resulted in a rich, fudgy, decadent flourless chocolate loaf cake. For my dark chocolate substitute, I used 72% dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s. TJ’s has a giant 72% baking bar that is just as good to eat by itself and it is also super economical compared to the tiny bars you find in most stores.
As soon as a pulled this chocolate loaf cake from the oven, I knew it was going to be a winner. If you are dairy-free, you could easily substitute the dairy for your milk of choice and butter for vegan butter. I hope you enjoy this flourless chocolate loaf cake. Maybe it will even make it onto your dessert table for Easter this Sunday! Thanks for stopping by.
Ingredients
- CAKE
- 7 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan
- 1 cup (150 g) 72% dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup pecan flour plus extra for the top (you can finely chop pecans too!)
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (125 g) almond flour or meal
- ½ tsp.kosher salt
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup (150 g) coconut sugar
- GANACHE AND ASSEMBLY
- 1½ cups (200 g) 72% dark chocolate, chopped
- ¾ cup heavy cream or I used half and half
- 1 Tbsp. finely ground espresso or other dark roast coffee
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1Tbsp. unsalted butter
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- CAKE
- Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Lightly butter a 9x5" loaf pan; line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. Butter parchment. Combine chocolate and remaining 7 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. unsalted butter in a medium bowl and set over a large saucepan of simmering water (do not let bottom of bowl touch water). Heat chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set chocolate mixture aside.
- Pulse pecans in a food processor IF you are not using pecan flour until somewhat finely ground (it’s okay if there are some coarser pieces). Pulse in almond meal and salt; set aside.
- Beat eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the motor running, gradually stream in sugar and beat until mixture is very pale and nearly doubled in volume, about 1 minute. Stream in reserved chocolate mixture and beat until no streaks remain. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in reserved pecan mixture with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape bottom of bowl, until well incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and tap pan on counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake cake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pan.
- GANACHE AND ASSEMBLY
- As soon as the cake is almost cool, place chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream, coffee, cinnamon in a small saucepan to a faint simmer over medium heat. Pour over chocolate, whisking constantly until melted and smooth. Add butter and salt and whisk until butter is melted and ganache is shiny and smooth. Let cool until thickened slightly, 15–30 minutes.
- Turn cake out onto a large plate or cake stand and turn right side up. Pour ganache over (it should flow over the sides but not quite hit the plate). Scatter chopped pecans over as desired; chill until ganache is set, 10–15 minutes.
