Skinny Flourless Chocolate Cake
This Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake will satisfy your deep dark chocolate cravings with only 217 calories per serving. It’s a decadent gluten-free dessert with a secret healthy ingredient!
Table of contents
Why We Love This Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake
This Low Calorie Flourless Chocolate Cake is the perfect bit of indulgence. The addition of prunes keeps the cake moist without the need for oil or butter. This secret addition also adds sweetness, which keeps the added sugar content down.
You know when you buy an over-the-counter medicine and the label says how much of the “active ingredient” is included in the product? Well, that’s pretty much how I approach my selection of chocolate. For me, the dark chocolate is the active ingredient, and I want the medicine with the most “active ingredient” in my chocolate.
I don’t mess around with factory diluted mass-produced imitators. I go for the best. And I stash the stuff everywhere. Thank goodness the weather has turned a little cooler. I have had one too many melted chocolate bars in the side pouches of my car door.
But as you know, I am a healthy eater. 90% of what I eat and what I serve my family is great for you. The trick is, I satisfy my craving for chocolate and have just a bit of the very best quality, and then I go on with my day, satisfied.
That’s where this flourless chocolate cake comes in! It is the perfect recipe for a chocolate craving. Make it for a weekend baking project, Valentine’s Day or as a celebratory dessert for a special occasion.
Key Ingredients For This Flourless Chocolate Cake
Prunes
For this recipe, I wanted to develop a healthy chocolate cake. I knew I wanted to add pureed prunes. This is an idea I’d gotten from this dense and delicious Eating Well Chocolate Cake recipe. It replaces some of the fat and added sugar and keeps the cake naturally moist. As a result, I added no butter or oil and only ½ cup sugar for 8 servings.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is chocked full of nutrients and antioxidants and can be a healthy choice when consumed in moderation.
Other Ingredients For This Recipe
- 1 cup boiling water, plus more for water bath
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Step By Step Instructions For Low-Calorie Flourless Chocolate Cake
Step 1: Soften the prunes.
Place prunes in a large heat-proof measuring cup or small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over them and allow to soften and cool, about 30 minutes. This softens them and makes them easier to blend in the blender (this way you won’t bite down on a chunk of prune when enjoying a slice of cake).
Step 2: Preheat the oven and prepare the pan.
Meanwhile, arrange oven rack into the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray. Wrap spring-form pan in a double layer of foil to prevent leaks. Set in a large roasting pan.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients.
Whisk cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Step 4: Puree the prunes and add the remaining ingredients.
To make this recipe as simple as possible, you puree all the wet ingredients for this flourless chocolate cake in the blender (this works because there’s no flour in the recipe). Puree prunes and their soaking liquid in a blender until smooth. Add eggs, sugar and vanilla and puree until smooth. Drizzle chocolate through feed tube while motor is running and puree until fully combined. Beat in vanilla and the pureed prunes until smooth on medium-low speed.
Step 5: Combine the prune puree with the cocoa mixture.
Pour prune puree mixture into the cocoa mixture and mix with a silicone spatula until completely combined.
Step 6: Place the batter in the prepared pan, make a water bath and bake.
Spread batter in the prepared pan. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan, around the spring-form pan to create a hot water bath (this helps the cake cook evenly throughout). Transfer the roasting pan to the oven and bake until puffed, starting to crack slightly and jiggles as a whole when the pan is tilted, 38 to 42 minutes. It will not seem firm like a cake with flour but will firm-up as it cools. If the cake jiggles slightly when you tilt the springform pan, that’s okay!
Step 7: Remove from the oven, cook on a wire rack, chill and serve.
Remove from water bath and carefully remove foil from sides. Cool on a wire rack until room temperature. Chill in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 2 hours. Remove pan sides and slice to serve.
What To Serve with Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar or cocoa
- Add on vanilla bean whipped cream or a scoop of black forest ice cream
- Try with fresh fruit (we love it with raspberries)
- Drizzle with strawberry sauce or salted caramel sauce
FAQ’s and Expert Tips
Yes, in order to ensure that the cakes bakes evenly pour boiling water around the pan. Wrap the springform pan in 2 layers of foil to make sure there are no leaks.
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Cake is typically moist and spongy. Flourless chocolate cake is usually very moist and almost fudge-like with a very intense chocolate flavor.
Tips for Decorating a Flourless Chocolate Cake
This chocolate cake is a blank slate when it comes to decorating it. You can make your flourless chocolate cake as simple or snazzy as you’d like — no matter how you top it, it’ll taste good! I like to keep things easy and simply dust the top of my cake with cocoa powder. You could also toast some slivered almonds and sprinkle those along the edge of the cake, or top it with fresh berries (raspberries taste particularly good with this sweet cake). Freshly whipped cream wouldn’t go amiss either!
How to Store Flourless Chocolate Cake
You’ll want to keep this chocolate cake in a sealed container in the fridge. It’ll keep for a few days, but I don’t expect it to last that long! I’ve never tried freezing this cake before, but I think wrapping individual cake slices in plastic wrap and storing them in the freezer would work. You’d want to put the frozen slices in the fridge a day or two before you plan on eating it, though. (If you do try freezing this cake, please let me know how it turns out!).
More Healthy Chocolate Recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread is made with whole wheat flour, a whole can of pumpkin, maple syrup and mini chocolate chips.
- “Brownies masquerading as cookies” is the description for these gluten-free Gluten-Free Buckwheat Chocolate Cookies.
- If you love raspberry and chocolate together try these two: Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a delicious home-baked treat! These Paleo Chocolate Raspberry Muffins set a new bar for paleo muffins around here!
- This healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread has been my favorite form of baking therapy.
- Once this honey-sweetened and whole-grain chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe is sliced, it stands no chance of lasting more than a few minutes.
- These Dark Chocolate Walnut Vegan Energy Balls are not only a super simple and healthy snack, but will also satisfy your chocolate cravings in only 15 minutes!
- I had never used matcha in a recipe at all, until these yummy dark chocolate truffles with matcha!
- This Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Pie will be your family’s new Thanksgiving tradition!
- Chocolate Chili Spiced pecans with cocoa, chipotle and chili powder are a tasty snack, a quick appetizer or a thoughtful gift from the kitchen.
- A skinny chocolate protein shake for muscle recovery after a butt-kicking workout. Only 125 per shake and lactose-free.
- This sweet and creamy Healthy Hot Chocolate uses cacao powder, milk of choice, and is naturally sweetened with unrefined sweeteners!
- Chocolate, Peanut Butter, No Bake Recipe – An easy, delicious combination of ingredients, and a great way to incorporate flax seed in your diet too!
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintSkinny Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This skinny flourless chocolate cake will satisfy your deep dark chocolate cravings with only 217 calories per serving. And it’s gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted prunes, about 14
- 1 cup boiling water, plus more for water bath
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped and melted (see *tip)
Instructions
- Place prunes in a large heat-proof measuring cup or small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over them and allow to soften and cool, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, arrange oven rack into the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray. Wrap spring-form pan in a double layer of foil to prevent leaks. Set in a large roasting pan.
- Whisk cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Puree prunes and their soaking liquid in a blender until smooth. Add eggs, sugar and vanilla and puree until smooth. Drizzle chocolate through feed tube while motor is running and puree until fully combined. Beat in vanilla and the pureed prunes until smooth on medium-low speed.
- Pour prune puree mixture into the cocoa mixture and mix with a silicone spatula until completely combined.
- Spread batter in the prepared pan. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan, around the spring-form pan to create a hot water bath. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven and bake until puffed, starting to crack slightly and jiggles as a whole when the pan is tilted, 38 to 42 minutes. It will not seem firm like a cake with flour but will firm-up as it cools.
- Remove from water bath and carefully remove foil from sides. Cool on a wire rack until room temperature. Chill in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 2 hours. Remove pan sides and slice to serve.
Notes
To melt chocolate:
Place chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between rounds, until the chocolate is about half melted. Remove from the microwave and continue stirring until completely melted.
How to store:
Keep this chocolate cake in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 cake
- Calories: 217
- Sugar: 26 g
- Sodium: 190 mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 6 g
I follow Lake Champlain chocolates on Twitter
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I like to use cocoa in my dark rye bread!
Tweeted https://twitter.com/KDFF/status/257927737388449793
And I just tweeted about the contest. Woo! I’m a total chocoholic, and those photos are making me drool.
I now follow you on twitter, too!!
I also follow Lake Champlain Chocolates on twitter!
I followed you on Pinterest, too!
I love the old standby – chocolate chip cookies!! I’ve found they taste SO much better with high quality chocolate chips.
My latest favorite way to bake with cocoa, discovered when searching cupcake recipes for my son’s bday – black bottom cupcakes!
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Wow, the torte looks incredible. I came to this post just to ogle at that, but I’d welcome free chocolatey goodness. Lately I’ve been making black bean brownies like nobody’s business, so I guess we’re flourless chocolate dessert cousins :).
Subscribed as well 🙂
Can’t wait to try this torte!
Following Lake Champlain Chocolates as well!
Following on twitter (@refinemovement)