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Dark Chocolate-Almond Cake (Gluten-free)
February 13, 2010 | 22 Comments
… with Coffee Ice cream.
We had friends over for dinner last night – in all nine people from four different countries, all very health-conscious and one gluten-free. We decided to stick to an entire gluten-free menu (except for homemade spelt bread). It’s quite a challenge when you realise that there’s gluten in everything from soy sauce to some brands of baking powder.
First, the President of the Nude Sunbathers’ Association of America regaled us with a talk. It was followed by dinner and this cake, served with ice cream and fruit.
I toyed with the idea of veganising it, but decided against it for two reasons. First, I had made this once before and it turned out fantastic. Besides, I wasn’t about to pull a tofu stunt an hour and a half before our guests arrived. If it was a flop, I’d have to drive around town looking for a gluten-free dessert.
Then, an egg carton makes a good paper weight. Please pardon the craptastic pictures taken in a tearing hurry. This recipe is adapted from “Dark-Chocolate Almond Cake’ from Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, and Savory by Lou Seibert Pappas. The cake was moist, fudgy and intensely chocolatey. I made 12 mini-cakes in my jello moulds. I fervently hoped that they would unmould from the pans properly – and they did.
Gluten-free Dark Chocolate-Almond Cake
You can easily halve this recipe and reduce the cooking time. I baked it slow and long at 300F in my convection countertop oven. The times may differ in the regular oven at a non-convection setting.
**A note about the eggs: You need to beat the whites until stiff and glossy and the yolks separately. If you get a bit of yolk in the white (as I did), the whites will not beat to the desired consistency. The fat in the yolk will not take them beyond the foamy consistency no matter how long you beat the whites. Here’s an easy fix. Along with the flour, add 1/4 tsp baking soda and about 3/4 tsp baking powder. (I use Rumford baking powder which is aluminum-free and gluten-free.) Your cake will rise just fine.
I didn’t tweak the quantities, just made some substitutions. You can see the original recipe at epicurean.com
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
**I used organic extra virgin coconut oil. Or try half coconut oil and half almond butter.
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
**I used 99% dark
6 large eggs, separated
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
**I used half tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup
**I used 1/4 cup brown rice syrup and half cup raw honey. I didn’t reduce the amount of sweetener as the chocolate was super-dark.
2 tablespoons brewed coffee, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, or rum
**I used a tsp of instant espresso powder plus 1 tbsp Cognac.
3/4 cup (3 ounces) finely ground almonds or toasted and skinned hazelnuts
6 tablespoons unbleached allpurpose flour
**I used buckwheat flour (amaranth or teff will work too). 4.5 tbsps toasted buckwheat groats gives 6 tbsp powdered.
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
**I used 1 tbsp powdered sugar mixed with half tsp cornstarch
A dash each of almond and vanilla extract
**this is my addition
… with blueberries and mangoes.
Makes one 9-inch cake or a dozen small ones; serves 12
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Put a parchment round below for insurance. If you’re using smaller moulds (like I did), oil all over and dust with flour (remember to use the same gluten-free flour you’re using for the cake if it’s a gluten-free cake).
99% dark fair-trade chocolate.
2. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the coconut oil and chocolate and stir to blend. Or do it in the microwave in a glass bowl, stirring at 30 second intervals.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy with a whisk or an electric mixer; add the salt and lemon juice and beat until soft peaks form. If using sugar, add 1/4 cup and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. If not using sugar, don’t add the sweetener while beating. See note above about the eggs.
4. Separately, beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, then beat in the 1/2 cup sugar or all of the other sweetener, the almond and vanilla extracts and the coffee/spirits. Stir in the chocolate mixture until blended. Fold in one-third of the whites to lighten the mixture, then fold in the nut flour, buckwheat flour (start with 1/4 cup and add the rest only if you need it), and then the remaining whites. The batter should be thick. Sppon the batter into the prepared pan/s upto 3/4 full and tap gently on the counter to smooth the top and remove air bubbles.
5. Bake for 45 minutes for a large cake or around 18 minutes for little ones in the middle rack. The top should be firm, the cake should start pulling off the sides, but the center should be a bit fudgy. A toothpick inserted a inch from the center should come out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack (for at least 20 minutes) before removing the springform pan sides or tapping firmly to unmould.
6. Dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar shaken through a sieve, and cut into wedges to serve.
For the road: Jai’s signature Kaju Katli (Cashew Marzipan)
- bee
Me likey.
Almond, bake, Buckwheat, cat blogging, Chocolate, coconut oil, Coffee, Delta, education, Eggs, gluten-free, jello mold, vegetarian recipes
Wow!! I’m so going to make this, as soon as I get the next opportunity to share the calories.
If its got dark chocolate, then it has my vote!
i have to say i am beginning to come here for the cutesey pics of the third bandit!
just the thing for a dinner party – I am sure I would likey this very much
I’m so making this! I made the flourless Valentino cake once, but I just couldn’t get it out of the baking tray and ended up eating it like pudding. I’m sure this one, with the added nut flour and buckwheat flour has a really nice texture. Have you tried coconut flour in baking Bee? Do you think substituting buckwheat flour with coconut flour would work?
may work, but it may also scorch easily.
Stunning cakes–so perfect (and would be great for a romantic V-Day meal as well). And what you call “craptastic” pics are those I’d consider my “amazingly good” ones! It’s all relative. . .
Looks delicious. Nice presentation.
I am liking this cake a lot and can’t wait to give it a shot; thanks, and yes, the third bandit is very photogenic
Very nice! I like your idea of using the jello molds and also the fruit accompaniment. I wish our black cat were as comfortable in front of the camera as Delta seems to be.
Its weird, but this is the first time I’m able to open your site in the last one month. I’m in India currently, and have not been able to access your site at all. I get a Page not found error!
But it was worth the wait eh?
Hi,
Just thought I would add here that while in India, I had the ‘page not found’ problem on a pretty regular basis myself. Sorry, I don’t remember more details to help..
Wow! Almond and chocolate pair very well and next to your almond chocolate brownie this would be a definite hit combo! I envy the cute kitten and the lazy sun bath
I’ve made flourless choc cake that uses just cocoa, sugar and eggs, off the Net. I liked it. Don’t miss the flour at all, and it rose well too.
And yes, as A&N say, I haven’t been able to access your site on my home computer for many, many months now.
Which are you current favourite brands of chocolate?
Valrhona, Domori, Guittard, El Rey, Amano.
anything that’s above 70% and fair trade. see the list here:
http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html
I’ve previously avoided using honey in baked/cooked foods coz my mom always believed that honey becomes “toxic” when heated. Not sure where she got that. I haven’t really looked into it further – I should! But have u guys come across any problems with eating honey that has been subjected to heat?
if you buy regular honey that doesn’t explicitly state “raw honey”, it has already been subjected to heat. it’s less nutritious, but it’s not toxic.
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-28-heat-makes-honey-toxic-and-other-myths-of-the-hive/
Yay for pain-free unmolding!
I love anything with a deep chocolate taste to it – so how could you go wrong with 99%, eh? 
I have a basic(& silly) question about cake pans in general… I read that nonstick is a big no no for health concerns. I use an aluminium round cake pan… I doubt if it is a better choice. Please shed some light on the best possibilities of baking dishes (choice of material of baking dish-for baking cakes, muffins, cookies…) . Thought you are the right person to ask after seeing your audit on oils. Learnt a lot from you guys. Lovely cake recipe – will try it soon. Thank you very much for this beautiful and informative space dear jugalbandits.
i know nothing about cake pans except that i don’t like non-stick.
Sounds delicious! Seeing so many recipes on the blogs with other flours is really tempting me to experiment, but we don’t have that big a selection sold here. Will hunt some more!