Evelyn Sharpe's French Chocolate Cake

By Amanda Hesser

Evelyn Sharpe's French Chocolate Cake
Tom Schierlitz for The New York Times. Food stylist: Brian Preston Campbell.
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(1,250)
Comments
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Just as there will always be a place in the world for an understated but luxurious black dress, there will always be a place for flourless chocolate cake. This recipe from 1969 was one of the first published, long before the cake became fashionable. Today it may be a cliché, but it’s a swanky one. This cake is dense, but not the solid block of sweet that can make you wonder if you’re just eating chocolate ganache in cake form. Of course, since the recipe has so few ingredients, it is imperative to use truly delicious chocolate. The proportion of cacao, in case you’re wondering, should fall between 60 and 70 percent.

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Ingredients

Yield:10 servings
  • 1pound semisweet chocolate
  • 10tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour (or matzo meal)
  • 1tablespoon sugar
  • 4eggs, separated
  • Sweetened whipped cream
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    Melt the chocolate gently in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. This is a critical step in the preparation and should be done very slowly (or it can be done more speedily in the microwave).

  3. Step 3

    Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and stir in the butter, flour and sugar. Beat the yolks lightly and whisk into the chocolate mixture gradually.

  4. Step 4

    Beat the egg whites until they hold a definite shape but are not dry and fold into the chocolate mixture. Overbeating or underbeating will ruin the cake. The beaten egg whites should be folded smoothly, quickly and easily into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat; open the oven door, leaving it ajar, and allow the cake to cool completely in the oven.

  5. Step 5

    The cake is best served a little warm. Decorate with whipped cream. Run a long, thin knife under hot water and then slice the cake into small slivers. It is rich.

Tip
  • I recommend using bittersweet chocolate and salted butter. To the whipped cream, I fold in a heaping tablespoon or two of crème fraîche.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,250 user ratings
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Comments

grant taylor

NYT.You are an international entity whether you like it or not.
I am a subscriber from down under (Australia) and I would just love if your food recipes came with the metric measurements for many of us offshore and the imperial measurements for the U.S.

Just a wish.
Many thanks

kcranedreams

I followed the tip and weighed 10oz of bittersweet with 6oz of semi-sweet, used hand-rolled salted butter. I used a 10" springform pan and, like the others here, turned the oven down to 300 after 11 minutes and watched it for about 9 more minutes. Then I turned off the oven and opened the door. Perfect! Whipped some fresh cream, added 1 Tbsp of confectioners' sugar and whipped once more for my topping.

Sara Bonisteel

I made this for a gluten-free birthday party, substituting Cup4Cup for the tablespoon of flour. It was delicious.

Mimi RunswithKitchenScissors

Took me about 30 mins start-to-finish. Still, it's faster than many, and was a lifesaver when I had a last-minute invite to a dessert party. Only had milk chocolate on hand, so left out the sugar — it's plenty sweet without — and used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF flour for my GF friends ("flourless," LOL). Came out nicely, though I wish I had pulled it out sooner to get that molten chocolate effect that some had mentioned (IMO it's a bonus!). But the texture was nice — kind of like a fluffy truffle.

Liz

For Passover, Use bittersweet chocolate combine with refined coconut oil, 1 1/2 t almond flour and 1 1/2 t potato starch, 1 t instant coffee granules, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t cayenne, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1 t ancho chili powder

Mia

I made this exactly as instructed EXCEPT I baked it for 25 minutes and it came out perfectly!

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