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Flourless Chocolate Cake



I love yoghurt and consume tons of the stuff, so I was excited when I saw Activia had brought out a pouring yoghurt in three flavours: Natural, Vanilla and Strawberry. I was even more excited when they got in touch with me to ask if I would like to try some. They were hoping I would come up with some serving suggestions. I am sure they thought I would give a breakfast suggestion, but no. As soon as I saw the cartons I knew it would be at its best poured over chocolate cake and so the search for a chocolate cake began.

I sat on the floor with a multitude of cookbooks around me and flicked through them with the help of a rather nosey baby. My requirements were few, I had to have the ingredients (as we were snowed in) and it had to make me drool thinking about it. I finally settled on a Flourless Chocolate Cake from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, a cookbook I just love.


It turned out fabulously and as suspected the yogurt was delicious with the cake. The rich, fudgey chocolate cake was sweet which contrasted beautifully with the slightly tart yoghurt. Cream would have been too much and would have drowned the flavour of the cake, but the yoghurt complimented it beautifully. This is now my favourite chocolate cake and I will definitely be trying the other flavours of pouring yoghurt.


Flourless Chocolate Cake

300g/2cups of broken plain/semi-sweet chocolate (I used 1 bar of dark chocolate and 2 bars of dark chocolate with orange and almonds)
225g/1 cup of caster sugar
180ml/¾ cup of boiling water
225g/1 cup of salted butter, cut into cubes (I used unsalted and added a pinch of salt to the mix)
6 eggs, separated (I used large eggs)
1 tsp of instant coffee powder
1 tbsp of vanilla extract


Grease and line the base of a solid-bottomed 20cm/8 inch square or 23cm/9 inch round cake pan. Sophie - "I prefer to use a springform cake tin as the texture of the cake is quite moist and sticky, but make sure it's well lined to prevent the mixture leaking through the gaps". Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4.

In a large food processor (or done in two batches), pulse the chocolate and sugar until fine. Add the boiling water, butter, egg yolks, coffee powder and vanilla extract (add a pinch of salt if you are using unsalted butter). In a glass bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and then add them to the mixture in the food processor and blend for 10 seconds or so. Jacqueline - "I mixed a dollop of the stiff egg whites into the food processor mixture, then gently folded the rest of the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. It just seemed the right thing to do!". Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and put in the hot oven for 45-55 minutes. The top will be cracked like a desert fault line.

After you take the cake out of the oven it will collapse in on itself quite a bit. This is ok; it's not meant to be a proud cool cake, it's meant to be slightly rough around the edges and home-made looking.

Let the cake, cool, then put in the fridge for a few hours.

Sophie - "My favourite, favourite thing!".
Jacqueline - "My favourite, favourite thing (this week and my favourite chocolate cake of all)!".

Disclosure: Activia sent me some yoghurt to try. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

31 comments

  1. Wow very deliciouus chocolate cake and I love yoghurts of all types these sound really healthy nad delicious.

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  2. That chocolate cake looks too good to be true! Love the idea of the pouring yogurt instead of vream too.

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  3. Well, I don't know about healthy Simply Food, the yoghurt is, but the cake is definitely an indulgence :)

    It is the most amazing cake Chele, you really must try it :)

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  4. Talk about indulgent.

    I just made some of Choclettes Orange Brownies, thanks to you.

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  5. I love, love, love Sophie's cookbook! This looks marvelous, Jacqueline. So nice you had the ingredients at hand...so often I am missing just one and can find no substitutes.

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  6. Oh! I just gasped when I saw that cake, it looks beautiful! I was a bit skeptical of Sophie Dahl but I wish I'd given her more of a chance now as that looks amazing.

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  7. Hope you enjoyed them Mangocheeks :)

    I know, that can be annoying Barbara, although I do try to keep my baking supplies stocked up.

    I was too Kerri, but I love the book. The recipes are really great, purely satisfying dishes, real sturdy, fuss free food, if you know what I mean?

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  8. ooooo this looks so moist and delicious. Great idea.

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  9. It's fab Lucie, really brownie-like :)

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  10. I adore these flourless cakes, they always come out so gooey... your looks amazing too!

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  11. This is perfect for all the gluten free diets out there too. Who says you can't eat your cake too:D

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  12. Is this a heavy cake? J-Fur loves a flourless chocolate cake but I've not found a good recipe for one yet. I will have to give this one a try. I like the idea of putting yogurt over top of it. Keep warm!

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  13. I never thought about the fact it is gluten-free Val, but you are so right.

    It is gorgeous TB, It's not heavy, I think because of the whipped egg whites, but it is really moist and so full of flavour, especially with the chocolate orange chocolate added :)

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  14. Ooh Jac, I bet that was delicious - it's just got to be with all that chocolate and fudgy texture. I've made one with almonds instead of flour, but haven't yet done a flourless and almondless one.

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  15. It did have teeny little slithers of almonds in the orange chocolate Choclette :)

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  16. delicious flavour with coffee in it looks yummy

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  17. Thanks Akheela, I didn't think the coffee would work with the orange flavour, but actually it just brings out a stronger chocolate flavour.

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  18. Love the first photo of the cake, which sounds just about perfect.

    You have managed to find the only veg free cake in the book!!

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  19. Have I? WIll have to have another look. It is a lovely cake Brownieville Girl, I am a Sophie Dahl convert :)

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  20. love that cake - great way to spend a snow day - i would really fancy a piece with some strawberry yoghurt

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  21. The cake look so chocolaty and delicious. Lovely click.

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  22. Have you any left I'm snowed in and starving!! It looks delicious.

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  23. I am with you Johanna, but Graham Pooh-poohed the idea. Gonna try that next time :)

    I'm glad you are enjoying the cookbook too Sophie :)

    Thanks Sanjeeta :)

    That's not good at all Ryan, I recommend you stop looking at food blogs until you have eaten. Horrible, horrible weather, isn't it? We dropped to -18c last night. Freezing!

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  24. I am a sucker for these dense, moist cakes. I would devour this in a day! Delicious.

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  25. Oh my! This is my kind of chocolate cake...It looks so moist and chocolaty! Perfect with a cup of tea.

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  26. looks divine. I love the intensity of flavour in cakes with no flour. And they're almost fudge like in texture, yet light enough to manage a second slice in one sitting :o)

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  28. It would be easy to go back for a little bit more, again and again Brittany, so I only make it if I have guests or for a friend. I have made it 3 times now and everyone thinks it is amazing.

    It is lush Vanessa, but I don't know about the tea, can't stand the stuff. :)

    It is really light, but fudgey at the same time Nic, it has to be tried :)

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  29. How uncanny! I also love yogurt with my sweets. Today I had a bit of (okay a lot of) yogurt with some apple pie. Or for my simplest dessert: frozen banana with greek yogurt. The yogurt freezes to the banana and, well, it's sort of a creamy, icy, sweet (but not too sweet) after dinner treat. Your cake, though - now that's a treat. 6 eggs - it's like a chocolate quiche. ;-)

    Happy birthday to the little one!

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  30. Wow this cake is absolutely stunning!! I'm completely in love with that top photo mmm.

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I love reading comments, so thank you for taking the time to leave one. Unfortunately, I'm bombarded with spam, so I've turned on comment moderation. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can and respond to them. Don't panic, they will disappear when you hit publish. Jac x