This flourless chocolate cake is insanely good and all you need is a mixing bowl and whisk to make it! You will be surprised that no grains, starches or dairy are needed to make this decadent cake. Easy and delicious, it's perfect for serving up for any gathering or if you just need a chocolate fix! One bite and you will be in chocolate heaven!
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Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- Almond flour
- Cocoa
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
- Canned pumpkin puree
- Eggs
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Neutral-flavored oil
Instructions
Melting the Chocolate Chips
Add the chocolate chips to a bowl and set the bowl over a measuring cup or pot of just boiled water. Let the chocolate chips melt from the residual heat, stirring every few minutes until it is smooth. Set aside.
(To get more detailed step-by-step instructions, check out my post on How To Melt Chocolate.)
Making the Cake Batter
In a medium sized bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well-combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and whisk well.
Add the melted chocolate to the mixing bowl and mix it into the cake batter with a spoon or rubber spatula.
Baking the Cake
Transfer the cake batter to a parchment-lined baking pan or springform pan.
Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry and with crumbs. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing it.
Serving Suggestions
You really can't go wrong with just eating a piece of this cake straight out of the pan! However, you can give your cake a dusting of icing sugar to make it just a bit fancier.
Want to do more? Melt some more chocolate and drizzle that over the top of the cake or just over an individual slice.
Take it a step further and top it with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Go extra fancy and serve it with a drizzle of berry compote!
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes! You can use any liquid sweetener to replace the maple syrup, 1:1.
I have had readers use flax eggs to replace eggs in other baking recipes of mine with success. I do not have any personal experience with using flax eggs, though, so I am not sure about how it would affect the final result.
Applesauce works!
Pumpkin puree beats applesauce in a nutritional level. It is a great source of protein, bests applesauce by leaps and bounds in Vitamins A, C, E, and K, as well as vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6. Then it is rich in minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron...I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
Yes, you can, but be aware that the same amount of mashed bananas is higher in carbohydrates than pumpkin puree.
I store my cake in the fridge and it will last about 7 days.
Yes! I freeze individual pieces and pull them out as I want to eat them. Let them defrost at room temperature or warm them in the microwave .
No. If you'd like, you can stir the chocolate chips directly into the cake batter and sprinkle more on top before baking.
Yes! I have baked this in a 9-inch springform pan, an 8x8-inch, and an 9x13-inch pan and it always works out perfectly! If you bake in a 9x13, your pieces will obviously be shorter, but you can feed more people.
More Chocolate and Dessert Recipes
If you love chocolate and are looking for more gluten-free chocolate sweet treats, check out these delicious options:
If you want more dessert ideas, these are also sweet ideas to consider:
I love how easy it is to make this flourless chocolate cake and how moist and delicious it is. I also love how adding the pumpkin puree makes this cake more nutritious, without giving any hints that there is any pumpkin in it! It's a simple cake that can be enjoyed as is or easily dressed up for more special occasions and it's going to be a hit from the first bite!
~ Lisa.
Watch How To Make It!
This video shows how to make it in a rectangular pan, but the process is the same!
Recipe
Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup dark chocolate chips
Dry Ingredients:
- 200 grams blanched almond flour
- 60 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 27 grams coconut flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 15 oz. can canned pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons extra light olive oil (or any neutral flavored oil)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Optional Toppings:
- Icing sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate shavings
- Melted chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350F/180C.
- Place a bowl of chocolate chips over a measuring cup, pot or larger bowl of just-boiled water. Allow the chocolate chips to melt from the heat and stir occasionally until the chocolate is smooth.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together.
- In large mixing bowl, combine canned pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix together with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well with a whisk.
- Add the melted chocolate to batter and stir it in with a spoon or rubber spatula.
- Pour the cake batter into a parchment lined pan. (See Recipe Notes on pan sizes below.)
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with crumbs.
- Let cake cool in pan for at least an hour before attempting to remove it (or just leave it in the pan).
- Dust with icing sugar or top with more melted chocolate and whipped cream, if desired.
- Store leftover cake in the fridge.
Notes
- For dairy-free chocolate chips, I use Guittard Extra Dark 63% Chocolate Chips.
- To reduce the carbs in this cake, you can reduce the maple syrup by half. You can also reduce or eliminate the melted chocolate, knowing that you will lessen the chocolatey flavor.
- Instead of melting the chocolate chips, you can simply stir them into the cake batter and also sprinkle more on top before you bake the cake.
- You can substitute the chocolate chips with chopped chocolate.
- Substitute the pumpkin puree with applesauce.
- I have used a 9-inch springform pan for this recipe as well as an 8x8 square pan. If you use an 8x8 pan for the cake, make sure the sides are no less than 2" (5cm) to account for the rise in the cake.
- Use a 6-inch springform pan for a taller cake.
- Cake tastes great chilled!
- Top the cake with a dusting of icing sugar, melted chocolate, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate shavings, etc.
Thanks for stopping by! If you make this dish or any of my other recipes, I would love it if you could take the time to comment and rate it below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
**This post was originally published May 5th, 2020 and republished December 11th, 2023 with an updated recipe, new photos, and new writing.
Joy says
It’s a wonderful recipe and taste just nice to me without the maple syrup! My now favourite go-to chocolate fix! Lisa, do you think rice flour (or another gluten-free flour) could sub some of the almond flour in this recipe? There is some sensitivity to almond in my family, and I am wondering if there might be options to consider. Many thanks!
Thanks so much, Joy! You could try substituting the almond flour with an all-purpose GF blend or maybe oat flour, but I'm not exactly sure how it would turn out. I would not do a straight substitution with only rice flour. If you try it, please check back in and let me know how it turns out!
janine Davies says
I made this as I came across a tin of pumpkin and wanted to try something different. Very easy to make but SO tasty. Really moist and a nice rich flavour. I made it in cake form but think I will make muffin size next time as such an easy breakfast food and can freeze individually.
I'm so glad you liked it, Janine, and making muffins/cupcakes for breakfast sounds like a great idea!
Tracy Wilkinson says
This was delicious! Moist but light. Great flavor. I did switch out the Maple Syrup for monk fruit. I will definitely be making this again.
That's fabulous, Tracy! I'm so glad you liked it, and glad to know that a monk fruit substitution worked!
Sabrina says
Yum! So delicious and I had all the ingredients already, no special trips to store needed! A great whole-ingredient cake, thanks!
That's awesome that you had everything on hand to make it already, Sabrina! So glad you liked it!
Sean@Diversivore says
I love that this manages to be a flourless chocolate dessert (always awesome), and yet it still looks and feels like a cake. Don't get me wrong, I love gooey, rich flourless chocolate desserts, but sometimes you want that crumbly cake appeal. Lovely stuff!
Thanks, Sean! That cake crumb was exactly what I was after with this recipe!
NANCY @Instanomss says
checking the pantry for the ingredients and hoping to make it today!
I hope you have all the ingredients, Nancy! Let me know how it turns out!
Julia says
Delicious looking and sounding cake. I never ever think of baking cakes without flour and how appropriate for now!!! I bet it's wonderful, will have to try sometime for sure.
Please do, Julia!