Triple Layer Flourless Chocolate Cake

This post is sponsored by SCHARFFEN BERGER Chocolate Maker.

This triple-layer flourless chocolate cake is filled with a smooth and creamy chocolate buttercream frosting. The icing on this gluten-free cake is a homemade chocolate ganache that is decorated with fresh strawberries and buttercream dollops.

This incredibly delicious, indulgent treat is perfect for any celebration or holiday or simply because you want a truly decadent chocolate dessert.

Better Chocolate For Better Baking

This recipe is for a gluten-free chocolate cake that is perfect for birthdays and holidays. This cake is not only gluten-sensitive friendly, but it is made with ingredients you can feel good about.

SCHARFFEN BERGER chocolate is not only gluten-free, it is also Kosher, and most of the chocolate lineup is dairy-free (except for the 41% Milk Chocolate)!

A little bit of knowledge to share is that SCHARFFEN BERGER Chocolate Maker trailblazed the American craft chocolate movement. It is still the richest and most flavorful chocolate, bar none. This chocolate isn't masked with unnecessary sugars and additives, so there's more natural chocolate flavor going into your baked goods!

RELATED: Flourless Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients in Flourless Chocolate Cake

SCHARFFEN BERGER chocolate is used in this recipe to create the richest and most flavorful flourless chocolate cake. Visit the SCHARFFEN BERGER website for how to purchase this chocolate.

• SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking bar - chopped into small pieces so that it melts quickly and evenly.
• SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened 100% cacao natural cocoa powder - This cocoa powder not only gives this layer cake a beautiful dark color, but it also creates a rich and luxurious flavor.
• Unsalted butter
• Light brown sugar - Light brown sugar gives this cake volume and adds to the flavor of the chocolate. It also aids in keeping the cake soft.
• Salt
• Vanilla extract - The addition of the vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of the cake.
• Eggs - lightly beaten
• SCHARFFEN BERGER 62% Semisweet cacao dark chocolate baking chunks - These baking chunks are used for the chocolate ganache. This superior chocolate creates a silky smooth and flavorful chocolate ganache topping.
• Heavy cream - The heavy cream has a high milkfat content and gives the ganache a thick velvety texture.
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Milk - Milk helps thin out the buttercream frosting to make it spreadable or pipeable onto baked goods.

How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

The steps to make this gluten-free chocolate cake are not only easy, but they’re rather quick as well. For this recipe, you will need three 8-inch pans that have been generously greased and lined with parchment paper rounds. The batter is divided equally between the three pans and baked for roughly 18-20 minutes.

Prepare the oven and the pans- Preheat the oven to 375° F Grease three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place parchment paper rounds onto the bottom of each pan. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray as well to prevent the cake from sticking.

Melt the chocolate and make the batter- Melt the butter over medium-low heat on the stove in a medium-size saucepan. Once the butter is melted, add the chopped 2 cups of SCHARFFEN BERGER 62% cacao semisweet dark chocolate baking bar into the melted butter. Reduce the heat to low and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.

Stir in the light brown sugar and the salt. Then, stir in the vanilla extract until combined. Add the eggs in a few at a time and stir until the mixture is smooth. Add the SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened 100% cacao dark chocolate cocoa powder a little at a time until the mixture is smooth. Stir each addition until just combined and not powdery.

Divide the flourless chocolate cake batter- Pour the batter equally into the three 8-inch pans that are prepared with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper rounds. Add batter a little at a time to make it easier to divide the batter equally, about 1 ⅓ cup of batter per pan.

Bake the three 8-inch rounds for 19-21 minutes. The tops of the cakes should have a thin crust on them. Check with a toothpick. It should have a few crumbs but not have a wet center.

Cool the cakes- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes. Use a butter knife to carefully loosen the edges of the pan before inverting the cake to remove from the pans. Allow the cake to cool completely before assembling and frosting.

Make the ganache- In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-low until it lightly bubbles. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking chunks.
Allow the chocolate to sit for 5 minutes before stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Cool the chocolate ganache and allow it to thicken. While waiting, make the chocolate frosting.

Make the chocolate buttercream frosting- Melt the ¾ cup of SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking bar in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Remove the chocolate from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the softened butter until creamy.

RELATED: Gluten Free Peanut Butter Balls

Stir in the cooled chocolate and slowly beat in the confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Add milk a little at a time until creamy but firm enough to frost. Discard remaining milk if it is not needed.

Assemble the layer cake- Place one layer of the cake onto a cake plate and spread one-third of the frosting on top of the cake round.

Place the second cake round on top of the frosting and frost the layer with one-third of the frosting.

Pour the chocolate ganache- Pour the cooled and thickened ganache on top of the cake. The ganache should have a slow drip and not be runny give the top of the cake a nice glaze.

Decorate the triple layer flourless chocolate cake- Decorate the cake with any remaining chocolate buttercream if desired and garnish with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Store the frosted and decorated flourless chocolate cake in the refrigerator and consume it within three to four days.

📖 Recipe

Triple Layer Flourless Chocolate Cake

Dana

Triple-layer flourless chocolate cake filled with a smooth and creamy chocolate buttercream frosting. The icing on this gluten-free cake is a homemade chocolate ganache that is decorated with fresh strawberries and buttercream dollops.

4.78 from 22 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 19 minutes mins

Total Time 39 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 20 servings

Calories 422 kcal

Equipment

• 8-Inch Round Cake Pan Set of 3

Ingredients

  

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For the Flourless Chocolate Cake Layers

• ▢ 2 cups SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking bar - chopped
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 6 large eggs slightly beaten
• ▢ 1 cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened 100% cacao dark chocolate cocoa powder

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• ▢ 1 cup butter - softened unsalted
• ▢ ¾ cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking bar
• ▢ 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ cup milk - add a little at a time

For the Chocolate Ganache

• ▢ 1 cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking chunks
• ▢ ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Make the Flourless Chocolate Cake Layers
• Preheat the oven to 375° F
• Grease three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place parchment paper rounds onto the bottom of each pan.
• Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray as well to prevent the cake from sticking.
• Melt the butter over medium-low heat on the stove in a medium-size saucepan.
• Once the butter is melted, add the chopped 2 cups of SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking bar into the melted butter.
• Reduce the heat to low and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Remove from the heat.
• Stir in the light brown sugar and the salt.
• Stir in the vanilla extract until combined.
• Add the eggs in a few at a time and stir until the mixture is smooth.
• Add the SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened 100% cacao dark chocolate cocoa powder a little at a time until the mixture is smooth. Stir each addition until just combined and not powdery.
• Pour the batter equally into the three 8-inch pans that are prepared with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper rounds. Add a little at a time to make it easier to divide the batter equally. About 1 ⅓ cup of batter per pan.
• Bake the three 8-inch rounds for 19-21 minutes. The tops of the cake should have a thin crust on them. Check with a toothpick. It should have a few crumbs but not have a wet center.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes. Use a butter knife to carefully loosen the edges of the pan before inverting the cake to remove it from the pans.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before assembling and frosting.
  
• Make the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
• Melt the ¾ cup of SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark chocolate baking bar in a small saucepan or in the microwave.
• Allow the chocolate to cool.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the softened butter until creamy.
• Beat in the espresso powder if using, and stir in the cooled chocolate.
• Slowly beat in the confectioner’s sugar until smooth.
• Add milk a little at a time until creamy but firm enough to frost. Discard remaining milk if it is not needed.
• Assemble the Layer Cake
• Place one layer of the cake onto a cake plate and spread one-third of the frosting on top of the cake round.
• Place the second cake round on top of the frosting and frost the layer with one-third of the frosting.
• Place the remaining layer on top and frost with the remaining chocolate frosting.
• Place the cake in the refrigerator to allow the frosting to harden before pouring ganache on top.
  
• Make the Chocolate Ganache
• In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it lightly bubbles.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the SCHARFFEN BERGER Semisweet 62% cacao dark
  chocolate baking chunks.
• Allow the chocolate to sit for 5 minutes before stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
• Pour the cooled and thickened ganache on top of the cake.
  

Notes

*You can use two 8-inch pans instead of three 8-inch pans in this recipe. Divide the batter equally between the two pans and bake for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Check the center of the cake with a toothpick to ensure the cakes are not wet before removing the cakes from the oven.

Thanks to SCHARFFEN BERGER Chocolate Maker for sponsoring this post.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 324mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 735IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.

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