Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
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Made with ground almonds and chocolate ganache, this flourless chocolate cake is rich and elegant.
I’m in charge of dessert for Passover every year so I’ve made my fair share of flourless chocolate cakes. This one, adapted from Maida Heatter’s Cakes, is my all-time favorite. Originally called the Queen Mother’s Cake (it’s a long story), the cake is Heatter’s most popular recipe ever. It’s made with ground almonds instead of flour and frosted with a decadent chocolate ganache, making it rich, elegant and surprisingly light.
Even though it’s fancy and made with nuts, kids love it. As you can see, my son has been enjoying it as a snack cake all week long!
What you’ll need to make flourless chocolate Almond cake
There aren’t that many ingredients in this cake, which makes it look simple but I’ll be honest: there are a lot of steps! It’s not hard to make but it does take a few hours start to finish. I think it’s worth it!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by buttering a springform pan. Line the pan with a round of parchment paper, then butter the paper. Dust the pan with matzo meal (if making for Passover) or fine bread crumbs so the cake won’t stick. Next, toast and grind the almonds, separate the eggs and melt the chocolate in the microwave.
Next, beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition, then add the melted chocolate and ground almonds. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the chocolate mixture.
Bake the cake for about one hour and ten minutes, then let the cake cool. It will fall in the center as it cools; that’s okay — the next step is to cut off the edges of the cake to make it flat.
Next, make the frosting.
Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a medium saucepan, then whisk in the instant coffee powder. Off the heat, stir in the chocolate and stir until completely melted. Let the ganache thicken for 10-15 minutes, then pour it over top of the cake. Use a thin spatula to smooth it over the top and down the sides. Serve with fresh berries, sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or any combination.
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Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Made with ground almonds and chocolate ganache, this flourless chocolate cake is rich and elegant.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1½ cups slivered almonds
- Handful fine dry breadcrumbs, matzo meal or gluten-free substitute (for dusting the pan)
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- 1½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
- 6 large eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
For the Ganache Frosting
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (best quality, such as Ghirardelli)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the almonds in a single layer on the prepared pan and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the almonds are lightly colored and fragrant. Set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 9'' x 3'' springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper. Dust the pan all over with the fine bread crumbs (or matzo meal); rotate the pan several times to spread evenly, then invert over the sink and tap lightly to shake out any excess crumbs. Set the prepared pan aside.
- Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until about 75% melted. Stir and let the residual heat melt the chocolate until completely smooth. Set aside until tepid.
- Place the almonds and ¼ cup of the sugar (reserve remaining ½ cup sugar) in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade. (Reserve the parchment paper from the nuts for icing the cake.) Process until the nuts are finely ground, stopping the machine once or twice to scrape down the sides. You should process for about one minute total. The mixture will be a little pasty but should not be the consistency of a nut butter. Set aside the ground nuts.
- In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add ¼ cup of the sugar (reserve the remaining ¼ cup sugar) and beat to mix. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary until smooth. On low speed, add the chocolate and beat until mixed. Then add the processed almonds and beat, scraping the bowl, until incorporated.
- Now, the whites should be beaten in the large bowl of the mixer. If you don't have an additional large bowl for the mixer, transfer the chocolate mixture to any other large bowl. Wash the bowl and beaters.
- In the clean bowl of the mixer, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the salt and lemon juice, starting on low speed and increasing it gradually. When the whites barely hold a soft shape, gradually add the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Continue to beat until the whites hold stiff peaks when the beaters are raised. Do not overbeat.
- Stir a large spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it a bit. Then, in three additions, fold in the remaining whites. Do not fold thoroughly until the last addition and do not handle more than necessary.
- Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. Rotate the pan briskly in order to level the batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F, then reduce the temperature to 325°F and continue to bake for an additional 50 minutes. The top might crack a bit; that's okay.
- Remove the cake pan from the oven and place it on a rack. Let stand until tepid, 50 to 60 minutes.
- Release and remove the sides of the pan (do not cut around the sides with a knife—it will make the rim of the cake messy). Now, let the cake stand until it is completely cool.
- The cake will sink a little in the middle as it cools. Use a long, thin, sharp knife (I prefer serrated) and level the top. It will seem like you're cutting off a lot; don't worry about it. The finished cake should be about 1½-inches high. Brush away any loose crumbs. Place a rack or a small board over the cake and carefully invert. Remove the bottom of the pan and the paper lining.
- The cake is now upside down; this is the way it will be iced. Place 4 strips of the reserved parchment paper (each about 3'' x 12'') around the edges of a cake plate. With a large, wide spatula, carefully transfer the cake to the plate; check to be sure that the cake is touching the paper all around (in order to keep the icing off the plate when you ice the cake).
- To make the ganache frosting, heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Add the espresso or coffee powder and whisk to dissolve. Add the chocolate and remove from the heat. Stir until all the chocolate is all melted and the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
- Pour the ganache slowly over the top of the cake. Using a long, narrow metal spatula, smooth the top and spread the icing so that a little runs down the sides of the cake (not too much—the icing on the sides should be a much thinner layer than on the top). Smooth the sides with the spatula, then remove the parchment liners.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Calories: 464
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated fat: 17 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Sugar: 32 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 81 mg
- Cholesterol: 137 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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Jenn,
I made this following all ingredients and instructions because it’s an endless search for a chocolate cake that my husband likes. It came out looking exactly like your picture, and even though I reduced the sugar, it was a bit sickly sweet and I think it was from the semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate and maybe the almond flour. It’s also quite big!
So I’m going to try it in a 4″ springform, halving all the ingredients, but using almond flour all purpose flour in equal quantities, and Lindt 70% chocolate.
My question is not whether you think this is going to work (!!) but how long in the oven – for the first hotter bit and then the longer lower heat bit? And of course I wouldn’t mind hearing whether you think it’ll work at all!
Thank you for making us all look like we know what we’re doing!!
Hi Joy, If you’d like to halve this and make it in a 4″ springform, I’d keep the oven temp the same (325°F) throughout baking time. I’m not certain how long it will take, but I’d start checking it at about 40 minutes. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
So this is what transpired. The 4″ teeny weeny pan arrived. My husband took one look at it and said you realize you’ll have to calculate the volumes of the 4″ and the 9″ to arrive at the correct measurements. With his help (ahem) – a 4″ is 6 times smaller in volume than a 9″.
Cut to the chase. One sixth of your measurements:
14 grams of each almond flour and all purpose flour (28 grams)
28 grams of chocolate
25 grams of sugar
28 grams butter
1 egg
Pinch salt
Small squeeze of lemon
I know you can imagine the minute amount of batter there was before the folding in of the egg white….
It fitted perfectly into what looks like a king size muffin pan, and I took it out after 30 minutes from the 325 temperature. It could do with just 25 minutes, but in the end, I’d say it tastes a bit like a Sachertorte without the apricot jam.
So thank you, Jenn, for your patience, and I’m sending you this only because you asked, but I certainly don’t expect to see it in the Comments!! Far too much information!
Thanks for reporting back — glad to hear it came out well! And, who knows, maybe your measurements will help someone else. 🙂
Hi Jenn,
Should the texture of this cake be the same as your flourless chocolate cake with meringue topping? I made this recipe for flourless chocolate with ganache topping and the texture was drier that I expected. Maybe I overbaked it. I thought I followed the recipe exactly although I was confused about the amount of butter required . I used 1 1/2 sticks because that is what the picture of ingredients showed but you told one of your commenters that 6 oz was the correct amount. The list of ingredients lists 1 1/2 cups (6oz) of butter. Can you please clarify? BTW the ganache was delicious. Thank you.
Hi Maria, the texture of this is different than that of the flourless chocolate cake with meringue; the almonds in this one give it a different texture. That said, if it was dry, you may have overbaked it a bit. Regarding the butter, you used the correct amount. If you were to weigh one and a half sticks of butter, it would be the equivalent of 6 ounces. Hope that helps!
I don’t know what went wrong but my ganache is not smooth at all or pourable. It also has an oily residue. What can I do?
Hi Susie, Sorry you had a problem with it. I’d refer to this video to try to fix it. Hope it works!
It was OK. I think I would have liked a darker chocolate as I’ve had other flourless cakes, which I can compare to. Maybe it was me, but I followed the ganache instructions exactly how it said, and it was not shiny at all. I googled why it was not shiny and it was suggested to add corn syrup. I did another batch and it was shiny with the corn syrup. Thank you for the recipe, anyway.
This cake has become the centerpiece of my husband’s birthday celebration. We call it his “gateau au chocolat”, and now that we have this, I cannot imagine baking any other chocolate cake. I bake it in a 10″ springform pan and can bake it at 3,500 feet with no modification to the ingredients. My question is whether the “toothpick test” works with the almond flour or if not, how to tell when the cake is done. I usually have to adjust baking time for our altitude. Thank you.
Hi Ellen, happy to hear this has become a tradition for your husband’s birthday! I honestly don’t know whether or not the toothpick test works with almond flour but because this cake is pretty fudgy, I don’t think it would be reliable anyway. I’d just stick to whatever adjustments you make for altitude and pay attention to what the outside of the cake looks like to determine doneness. Sorry I can’t be more helpful than that!
Thank you; that does help, because in the end we’ve got to trust our own judgment when we’re in the kitchen. However, all your pro tips plus comments from other readers have made me a better cook!
I made this for a friend’s birthday party, and it turned out so pretty. The ganache was very shiny. I was short of semisweet chocolate by 4 oz for the ganache so used 63% dark chocolate and it tasted great. Served with fresh raspberries on the side.
I woke up dreaming of Maida Heatter’s cake but my cookbook is miles away. I did a search for chocolate almond cake and your recipe was the first one I clicked on. How lucky for me! I’ll be getting started as soon as I finish my coffee. Thank you!
Can you make the chocolate ganache ahead of time?
Sure, Sandra – you’ll need to warm it very gently in a saucepan or in the microwave before using.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 sticks of butter, or 6 ounces. Where I live, sticks of butter are usually 8 ounces, so 1 1/2 sticks would be 12 ounces. So is 6 ounces correct?
Hi Tim, 6 ounces is correct. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy the cake!
Can I leave out the coffee or substitute something else for it?
Hi Amy, You can just omit it. Hope you enjoy!
Jenn,
I just finished making the batter for the flourless chocolate cake. I’m afraid I didn’t process the almonds long enough because I can taste bits of the almonds in the batter and the batter is not silky smooth. Please advise. Thank you.
Hi Elaine, I don’t think it will matter much in the end result. You may taste some little crunchy pieces but I think it will still be good. 🙂
Thanks, Jenn. Fingers crossed it will be good.
This was a fabulous dessert. It got rave reviews from family and friends. Thanks you, Jenn. Once again, a 5-star rating!
I just made this today and seriously it turned out perfect! It tastes absolutely decadent! I will make this one again! The texture is silky and the taste is very rich , the ganache is so perfectly full of coffee / chocolate perfection! I would show a picture of mine but it pretty much looks like Jens! I agree you must follow the steps carefully!
thank you for your wonderful amazing delicious recipes!
Hi, Jenn! Can we use this chocolate ganache for frosting the chocolate lover’s birthday cake in your cookbook? 🙂 Thanks so much! We love your recipes!
Hi Rose, I prefer a thicker buttercream-style frosting for a layer cake, but you could use this one if you prefer a ganache.
Oh, thank you! 🙂 That makes sense. I guess we could try the frosting in the cookbook again. Our problem with the last batch was the sweetness level. My son prefers milk chocolate, but when I tried it with the frosting in your cookbook, it came out too sweet (likely because of the chocolate). To lessen the sweetness, should I reduce the sugar, the corn syrup, or both?
I’d reduce both 🙂
Thanks! We will try it! 🙂
Hello Jenn,
Looks like an amazing recipe. I am planning to bake this for my boyfriend’s birthday. Can I use honey in place of sugar?
Hi Bhumika, For the most predictable results, I’d stick with sugar here – sorry!
Hi, I am unable to get whipping cream where I live. Do you think a coconut milk chocolate ganache would work with these flavors instead?
Sure, Adrienne, I think that would work flavor-wise. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it! 🙂
Hi Jenn,
I didn’t end up using a coconut milk chocolate ganache, but I did end up making cream on my own using whole milk and butter (my husband helped with the elbow grease). The ganache turned out perfectly with these adjustments! 🙂
Glad it worked out — thanks for reporting back!
This is a very nice torte. I made it today, as a non-compromise recipe for my chocoholic lactose-intolerant son’s sixth birthday. My preference would have been Childs’ Queen of Sheba cake, but since my mom and I can’t eat wheat these days, this was a better option for a dessert we all could enjoy without too much tampering.
Due to its simplicity, the cake benefits from using quality ingredients. For the chocolate, I used Guittard semisweet (65%) baking bars and wafers. As I was pressed for time and currently have no food processor, I used superfine almond flour. Probably the extra work of roasting slivered almonds enhances the flavor, but the sub was good, and I’d probably do it again. For the dairy subs, I refrained from using regular cow’s milk butter, but found a non-palm-oil butter that at least did not detract. In the future, I might try it with regular butter, and just give the kiddo a lactose pill! I used unsweetened almond milk for the ganache (since almond milk does not take to boiling, I just added the chocolate wafers when the milk was body temp, then poured the ganache onto each slice separately, so I could keep the cake on the counter and the ganache on the fridge). Served with fresh raspberries, a perfect complement.
I would definitely make this torte again. The recipe is precise but not overly-fussy. I used two bowls and a hand mixer, washing the beaters inbetween, which was not a hardship. The torte itself is not very sweet, and has a nice, light body. It did sink, and I did not bother cutting anything off—I let it be craggy-funky and no one blinked. I added a little chocolate extract to the ganache, and might add it instead to the cake batter next time to enhance the chocolate flavor. I think I also would dust the springform with cocoa powder, rather than the almond flour I used this time. But otherwise, I wouldn’t mess with it too much—the recipe works well!
My husband was just diagnosed with celiac disease a few months ago, food had changed so much for us. Yesterday was his birthday and I made this for him, it was so delicious! I love how the instructions are very clear, you have pictures of the ingredients that you use and the steps, with helpful tips for make ahead/storing/freezing. Thank you!!
Can the cake be frozen and ganache applied when defrosted. Thanks
I love all your recipes💓
They’re well illustrated and extremely clear and easy to follow.
Thanks so much
So glad you like the recipes, Avril! 💗 While I’ve never frozen this, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t freeze nicely. Hope you enjoy!
What is the carb count for the cake alone?
Hi Mary, I just added nutritional info to the recipe and without the ganache layer, the carbs come out to 26 grams. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Would definitely give this five stars with a few notes…the biggest one being that the egg yolks need to be at room temp because when I added in the chocolate, it started to solidify upon contact with the egg yolks. My cake also didn’t sink in the middle at all, so I didn’t cut it down…just waited for it to cool in the Springform and drizzled the ganache over it. This is my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.
I read one of the reviews that says not to use Ghirardelli if you have gluten issues. That may be based on outdated information because any real or potential gluten cross-contamination (such as shared equipment or facilities) must be disclosed on product packaging and there’s nothing on the Ghirardelli semi-sweet bars indicating that. Additionally, I have Celiac and have been using Ghirardelli for the last year with no problems.
Hi Jenn! I was wondering if I could make this with dark chocolate, or would that mess with the flavor in a bad way? My sister requested a dark chocolate birthday cake so I’m hoping to modify this one if it’s possible. If so, should I use dark chocolate in place of the semisweet for both the cake and the ganache, or just one? Also, since we do not have any reason we can’t use flour, could I coat the pan with flour instead of buying matzo meal? Thank you!!
Sorry! My question from yesterday wasn’t showing up when I just checked to see if you replied and now it is, I didn’t mean to ask the same thing twice.
Yes that’s fine re. the flour. 🙂
Could this be made with dark chocolate instead of semisweet? I hate modifying a recipe that I’ve never made, but my sister requested a dark chocolate cake for her birthday so I’m wondering if I could make this recipe work. If so, would I use it for both the cake and the ganache or just one? Thank you!!
Hi Kaylie, While this cake is made with semi-sweet chocolate, it still tastes like a dark chocolate cake. You could use bittersweet chocolate instead of semi-sweet for both the cake and the ganache, but I wouldn’t recommend unsweetened. Hope that helps!
Thank you, I’ll stick with semisweet then 🙂
Coffee for kids?… No wonder they love it for the extra hype 🙂
I have a similar recipe for Passover but I like the way your chocolate ganache frosting looks. I would like to know whether the ganache sets up” pretty solidly” or does it remain on the runny side.
Hi Barbara, It sets up nicely when cool.
How would I adapt this recipe to elevation? I live at 8500 ft elevation. Thanks.
Hi Kathy, I don’t have any experience with high altitude baking, but these tips may help. Hope you enjoy!
Baked this twice so far, without the icing (to reduce the potential of going overboard) , and it was amazingly delicious both times. Definitely worth the ~15-20 min extra effort compared to traditional chocolate cake recipes.
Hi Jenn,
Can I use cocoa powder to dust the pan instead of matzo meal?
I am looking forward making this cake to bring to a dinner party Sunday. The hostess is on a gluten free diet and I would really like to bring a special dessert that she and all the guests will love. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Yes Rege – that should work. Hope everyone enjoys!
Thanks! Sorry, one more question – is there a particular method (e.g. specific temperature I need to reach) when heating the chocolate to achieve the shiny, mirror-glaze to the ganache? I understand chocolate can be tricky to work with for those without experience. Thanks again!
Hi Rege, No special tricks here; I’d just closely follow the directions and you should get that nice shiny result.
This looks like a fabulous dessert and it is posted just in time for a May birthday that I need a gluten-free dessert for. Just a heads UP, those of us who have an auto-immune disease and NEED to eat gluten free SHOULD NOT use Ghiradelli Chocolate. It does not contain gluten, but it is made on machines that use wheat and/or barley malt and they DO NOT clean their machines between products. SCHARFFEN BERGER is more expensive, but it is gluten-free and is a very good chocolate.
Interesting as I have Celiac and have no problem with Ghirardelli chocolate. There is no disclosure on their packaging of semi-sweet chocolate bars saying that there is a danger of cross-contamination from shared facilities or equipment. I wonder if they’ve changed production methods?
Hi Jenn,
Would it be okay to to substitute 1.5 cups almond flour for the sliced almonds?
Sure, Meghna, that’s fine. Enjoy!
Thank you for this excellent recipe and your meticulous, step-by-step instructions. I just made this cake for a discerning, gluten-free brunch crowd, and it got rave reviews. I’ll be visiting your blog again! With best wishes…
Hi, l don’t see anywhere in the recipe description where to use the sugar, salt and lemon juice???
Did l miss something?
Hi Melinda, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, you can click the “recipe” button right under the recipe title. Let me know if you have any additional questions.
This cake looks delicious for Father’s Day! My family loves almond flavor, so I’m wondering if there’s enough almond flavor from the ground almonds or whether almond extract can be added? Thanks for your perfect recipes!
Hi Andy, I think you’ll be happy with degree of almond flavor with the recipe as is. I don’t think it’s necessary to add almond extract.
Thank you, Jenn! Just one more question — do you think almond meal can be used to coat the cake pan instead of matzo/breadcrumbs?
Yes, I think that should work Andy!
how many days in advance can you make this cake and how do you store it? Thank you
Hi Harriet, you could make it up to about 2 days in advance and you can just store it covered on your kitchen counter. Enjoy!
We have a tree nut alergy in our family. I was wondering if this delicious cake can be made with Hazelnuts instead of almonds. If so, would the quantity remain 11/2 cups?
Tzipi, I think the same quantity of hazelnuts would work well, just be sure to rub off the skins (they are bitter). Here’s how. Hope everyone enjoys, and please let me know how it turns out.
Can you leave the almonds out, for those with nut allergy?
Hi Melissa, I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. If you’d like a flourless chocolate cake that will work with a nut allergy, give this one a try. Hope that helps!
How far ahead can you bake this cake and can you freeze it?
I haven’t actually tried freezing this cake but it should work (it will keep well wrapped for a few months) — but I definitely wouldn’t frost it until you are ready to serve.
A fantastic cake…served it at a Labour Day family dinner and it was a hit. Even non-cake / dessert eaters were going back for a second piece! The cake does take a long time to make, but it completely worth the effort.
The cake was amazing! But I suspect there is more we need to know about the ganache, especially how to stop it splitting. Thanks, love your site.
Hi Diana, Sounds like your ganache may have gotten too hot. Did you remove it from the heat right after you added the chocolate?
Hi Jen
Looks like a fabulous recipe. What changes and cooking times would I ues to make cupcakes instead of cake. Thank you for any help you can give! Anne
Hi Anne, That’s a tough one — I’ve never made this cake as cupcakes but I would guess the cook time would be about 25 minutes.
I will be making the cake and frosting the day before it is served. Does it need to be refrigerated?
Hi Judy, No, it’s fine to leave it out at room temp.
Hi,
Is it possible to make the ganache without coffee grinds as we don’t like coffee or coffee flavored desserts?
Thanks,
Michaela
Hi Michaela, Yes, It’s fine to just leave it out 🙂
Love this! It’s a Passover must and a favorite of my sister with Celiac disease.
Lovely way to please your ‘gluten-free’ guests without risking flavor and texture. Divine! I have substituted toasted ground pecans for the slivered almonds. Also I nut up the sides of the cake after the glaze sets. Decorating the top with a thin drizzle of white or milk chocolate and then combing adds to the visual appeal. I give it a dollup of whipped cream & raspberries to brighten the cheer!
Jen,
I would love to make this cake but I do not have slivered almonds — only a massive amount of sliced almonds. Do you have any idea how many cups of sliced almonds I would need to use??
Thank in advance for your time. I love you recipes!!
Ashlea
Hi Ashlea, Thank you! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes 🙂 I actually think the quantity would be about the same; just watch the baking time as the sliced almonds will cook faster. Please let me know how it turns out!
Hi Jenn!
Thanks for your quick reply. So I did make it and used approximately the same amount of almonds. The cook time was maybe a touch less than described. It was delicious and everyone was giving it rave reviews!
Thank you!
Ashlea
Hi Jenn!
I made this cake for a birthday party and this was the best chocolate cake I have ever had. – Raquel
Excellent chocolate cake recipe. Just made it tonight 6/17/14 nice rich flavor and very easy to prepare. I have to commend the way the recipe is written because it makes it so easy to follow. I will be making this again and again. I am very excited to try some more recipes from this site. It will be very easy to give this a 5 star rating!
This turned out fabulous. Maida Heatter is my most favorite bakers so this was perfect. I planned to use Callebaut chocolate but surprisingly couldn’t locate any. I used Guittard instead with a low % cacao semisweet for the cake and a higher % cacao for the ganache.
Really wonderful!
This cake is excellent and turned out exactly as in the photos. If you have a hand mixer and a stand mixer, you can use the former for beating the egg whites in a metal bowl so that you do not need to disturb the stand mixer bowl and its contents. You can also skip the towel thing and just cool the cake on a regular rack. Instead of using parchment to prevent the icing from reaching the plate, you can use short sheets of waxed paper or, if you’re careful, you can even use plastic wrap as I did. Finally, I took a serrated cake decorator (looks like a plastic ruler with teeth on the side) and I twirled it around the top of the ganache for a nice pattern. For cutting, a large serrated bread knife works great. We made Passover dishes, including this one, for Jewish friends staying with us during the holiday. Over the weekend, the four of us could not get enough of this cake.
Hi
This is my first Seder where I’m doing all the preparation. I just placed this cake in the oven to cook. I looked online at various recipes before making this one. In one recipe that I looked at, it called for orange zest to be added. I added a small amount to the top before cooking. I’m excited about doping this Seder this year.
Hi Bette, Chocolate and orange are a great combination. Please let me know how it turned out!
Excelente
Jenn: I would love for my slices to look as perfect as the one in your photo. Can you share your technique for slicing the frosted cake?
Hi Liesel, This cake slices easily. Just wipe the knife in between slices 🙂
Looks delicious, if i use almond meal/flour instead of grinding up almonds myself, how much should i use?
Hi Jen, I’d stick to the 1-1/2 cups. Please let me know how it turns out!