15-Minute Chocolate Cake

With just 4 ingredients, this flourless 15-minute chocolate cake is a simple dessert that’s rich, decadent and can be served at room temperature or chilled.

We don’t make a big deal about Valentine’s Day at our house.

My husband is always very thoughtful and will get me flowers, which I love.

It’s such a treat having a vase filled with fresh flowers at home.

And we exchange cards.

It’s not an evening that I say is worthy of a babysitter.

Much like New Years Eve, there are lots of other non-holiday nights to go out to eat when it isn’t as crazy and you won’t have to order from a fixed menu.

Most of our pre-Valentine’s energy has gone into homemade cards that our 6-year-old will bring to school.

Every year I have good intentions of starting this process a few weeks in ahead of time, but it ends up being just a few days in advance.

Needless to say, our evenings have involved lots of coloring and decorating.

Of course, it’s worth all that work!

I can’t tell you how excited our son is to go through his bag of Valentine’s cards from his friends when he gets home from school.

Besides flower and cards, chocolate is my only other request.

Whether it’s a box of candy, fresh-baked cookies or another treat, chocolate is a must.

My husband and I are both fans of rich chocolatey desserts. 

With only 4 ingredients, butter, bittersweet chocolate, eggs and confectioners’ sugar, this 15-minute chocolate cake always manages to meet our requirements.

It almost seems like magic that you can make a cake with so few ingredients.

How To Make A 15-Minute Chocolate Cake

In a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, first I melt butter and bittersweet chocolate.

Then I crack 6 eggs into another bowl and whisk them over the pot of simmering water until they are foamy and almost have soft peaks.

I carefully fold the eggs into the melted chocolate and butter trying not to lose any of the air bubbles in the eggs.

Then I pour the batter into a springform pan. 

I bake the cake in a bain marie. This is just a container filled with enough hot water to come about halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

This makes for more gentle baking for a cake that has so many eggs that it’s like a custard. 

I use a roasting pan with plenty of space to hold the springform pan.

In just 15 minutes, the cake finishes baking and is just set. 

If served at room temperature, the cake is delicate, soft and custardy.

I love stashing it in the fridge to let it chill. The cake will have a truffle-like consistency.

It is up to you, but I say bake it in advance and serve the cake cold with fresh berries. 

More Easy Cake Recipes

Almond Flour Cake
Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
Blackberry Lemon Yogurt Cake
Cherry Pistachio Cake

15-Minute Chocolate Cake

• Author: Paige Adams
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes + cooling
• Yield: Makes one 10-inch cake 1x

Print Recipe

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Description

With just 4 ingredients, this flourless 15-minute chocolate cake is a simple dessert that’s rich, decadent and can be served at room temperature or chilled.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2–1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan and foil
• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
• 6 large eggs
• Confectioners’ sugar for serving

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water on the stove.
3. In another bowl over the saucepan of simmering water, use a handheld electric mixer to beat the eggs until they are pale and thickened and form soft peaks. Fold the eggs into the chocolate in two batches.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Loosely cover with buttered foil.
5. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan filled with of very hot water. The water should come halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes before removing the foil. Continue baking for 10 minutes until just set.
6. Take the pan out of the water and allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.
7. The cake can be served at room temperature or chilled from the refrigerator.
8. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if using.
9. Store in the refrigerator.

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Notes

When the cake is served at room temperature, it is delicate and like a custard. After the cake is chilled in the refrigerator, it has a more solid and almost truffle-like consistency.

Adapted from Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Café by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers