Baking for Passover — when you can’t use regular flour or any kind of leavener — can be a challenge, to say the least. Sure, there are endless recipes out there, but to find a dessert that is truly swoon-worthy is the ultimate challenge.
Enter: The flourless chocolate cake of your dreams — which just happens to be perfect for Passover!
Like many Passover desserts, this cake relies on separated and beaten eggs for the “lift” that is typically provided by leaveners such as baking powder and baking soda. This cake is sometimes called a “fallen” chocolate cake because it will rise considerably in the oven and then collapse when you take it out. This results in a rustic look, as well as a dense, deeply fudgy flavor and texture.
This easy Passover cake is so good that no frosting or garnish is necessary — a simple dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder is all it needs. I love to serve it with fresh raspberries for color and flavor.
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As this simple cake only calls for five (yes, you read correctly!) ingredients, you’ll want to splurge on a good-quality bittersweet chocolate here, as it is doing all the heavy lifting, flavor-wise.
Note: This cake tastes even better when you refrigerate it overnight before serving, after which it can be stored, covered, at room temperature for two days or up to five days in the fridge.
While this flourless chocolate cake is a go-to Passover dessert year after year, the rising price of eggs is challenging for many of us. If that’s the case, why not check out these 7 egg-free Passover desserts? From a creamy, dreamy chocolate pudding (to get that chocolate fix) to refreshing strawberry and coffee granitas, there’s an easy Passover dessert for everyone.
Flourless Passover Chocolate Cake Recipe
The perfect dessert for Passover, or any time of year.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 10-12
Ingredients
- 8 oz good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Place the yolks in a stand mixer bowl and, using the whisk attachment, beat until just emulsified. Slowly add ½ cup sugar and continue beating till thick and pale yellow in color. Add some of the egg-sugar mixture to the chocolate-butter mixture and fold in to lighten the chocolate. Add the rest of the egg-sugar mixture and fold in thoroughly. Add the vanilla and fold in once more.
- Clean and dry your mixer bowl and whisk attachment and add the egg whites to the bowl.
- Beat the whites on medium-low speed until the surface is completely covered in bubbles, then slowly add the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar. Raise the speed to high and beat until the whites are stiff and glossy, and hold their shape when the whisk attachment is removed.
- Add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture and fold in to lighten. Add the remaining egg whites in two additions, folding thoroughly each time. Pour into your prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan. Let cool completely on the rack, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Sift the cocoa powder over the top of the cake, if using, and then cut into thin wedges to serve.
Notes
This cake tastes even better when you refrigerate it overnight before serving, after which it can be stored, covered, at room temperature for two days or up to five days in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Passover
Not sure how tasty is chocolate baked eggs.
What’s the nutrition in these recipes? Diabetics have to know.
Diabetic here ✋😃. I made this simply substituting the sugar with Monk Fruit…. it was great!! (I usually use either “SpiceEl”, or “Monk Fruit n the Raw”—measures the same as sugar in recipes) It was so good——I felt like a was really “getting away with something”!!
Made it this morning… delicious already and looking forward to tomorrow after refrigeration
Can you replace the sugar with honey
Prepared this recipe while listening to Kimmel and Colbert. It cooked for 36 minutes. After 15 minutes out of the oven I tried it, tastes very good but is soft. I think it needed a few more minutes in the oven. I’m not the most experienced baker hoping they forgive me at the seder for a not so perfect cake….oh wrong holiday
This looks like a fabulous recipe, but is made with butter which I can’t serve after a meat meal at the seder. Can I make it parve by substituting margerine for butter and what is the ratio?
We haven’t tested the recipe with marg but a 1:1 substitution should work. Enjoy!
update…after cake spent a night in the refrigerator it’s just the best…i love it
Sounds delish can’t wait to make it 👩🏼🍳
Can the cake be made a few weeks before Passover and frozen?
We don’t recommend freezing this.
this is a really good recipe
slay
I’m thinking about adding a bit of freshly shaved orange zest into the egg yolk & sugar stage of the recipe. Has anyone out there tried this addition? What were your results?
The recipe was decent, although after baking the cake “fell” in the middle. The addition of the orange zest added a nice flavor nuance to the finished product. I dusted with powdered sugar rather than cocoa powder, and also served with fresh raspberries. Would definitely make this again.
I made this for my daughters to take for a multi-cultural food fest at their high school. They topped it with Cool Whip and raspberries and it (apparently) got rave reviews!
Why did you change this recipe? I made it for years w the cocoa powder and choc mixed together and never separated the eggs and it was perfect beyond! Now it’s a new version! First time I made it was 2020, wish I could find that recipe!
I have followed a recipe for torta caprese (a flourless chocolate cake) many times, my favorite. The author suggested to whip up the egg whites first and transfer to a bowl. Then in same bowl beat the egg yolks, etc.
Made this for Passover but first made a test cake. Let’s just say my office colleagues devoured the test cake – delicious! My only issue is that the cake at 30 minutes is very soft at the center (even when using a convection oven). Think it needs another 5 or so minutes.
Our son baked this cake for us that both my husband and I very much enjoyed for the first time today. I liked the fact that it was not too sweet or rich and that it was very light in texture. It was delicious on its own as well as with the addition of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I looking forward to baking it myself in the near future. Thanks for the recipe.
I have saved this link and used it to make a flourless chocolate cake for several years in a row, but the recipe changed this year. I have never separated the eggs before and the recipe also didn’t call for a double boiler method to melt the chocolate. Is there a way to also share the previous recipe? Maybe in another link? I liked the fudginess of that one although this one was def lighter – just so much more work!