Great Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Cake With Intense Chocolate Flavor

One of the best gluten free chocolate cake recipes

I love this chocolate almond cake.  I think it is because it is very light, well it feels very light when you eat it, two hours later you do feel the calories, but I think that happens with every chocolate cake.  Anyway, this chocolate and almond cake is a must try, not only for the folks that eat only gluten free cakes, but for all chocolate cake lovers.

 

I grind the almonds myself using a manual rotary food grater.  I think that this makes all the difference, since then the almond flour is fluffier, and not so dense, as with a food processor.  Maybe I am wrong, and if you know better, drop me a comment.

Best part about this flourless chocolate almond cake is that it is relatively quickly done and the icing doesn’t need to be refrigerated before use.    The garnish is super easy, as you just have to sprinkle the almond slices over the top of the cake.  It looks great, tastes amazing, there is nothing you could lose, so try this chocolate and almond cake today.  If you do, come back and leave me a comment, I love them!

Chocolate Almond Cake

Ingredients:

For the almond cake:

1. 100 g (3.5 oz) bitter or bitter-sweet chocolate (I use 50% cocoa chocolate)
2. 200 g (7 oz. – 2 cups and 4 tablespoons) grounded almonds
3. 200 g (14 tablespoons) butter
4. 180 g (3/4 cup and 2 ½ tablespoons) sugar
5. 4 large eggs
6. 1 tablespoon of rum
7. ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
8. 1 teaspoon baking powder

Note:  If you use smaller eggs, then use 1 ½ tablespoons of baking powder or take 5 eggs.

For the chocolate icing:

1. 175g (6.2oz) of dark chocolate (I used 50% cocoa chocolate.)
2. 75g (1/3 cup) butter
3. 60g (1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon) powdered sugar, sifted
4. 2 tablespoons of golden syrup (could be substituted with agave syrup or honey or dark corn syrup)
5. 125ml (2/4 cup) heavy cream
6. 1 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Equipment:

1. 9 inch (24 cm) spring cake pan
2. Rubber spatula
3. Icing spatula

 

Method:

Prepare the almond cake:

1.       Preheat the oven at 160°C – 320°F

2.       Line the bottom of your spring pan with parchment paper, grease and flour. 

3.       Melt the chocolate and the butter in a bowl suspended over simmering water or in a microwave set on around 800 Watts for 1 minute. 

4.       Whisk the baking powder with the almonds.

5.       Whip the egg yolk with sugar and rum for about 3 minutes on high until nice and creamy.

6.       Add the melted chocolate with butter and mix.  Don’t forget to scrape the sides.

7.       Add cinnamon, almonds with baking powder and mix until well incorporated, scraping the sides once or twice.

8.       Beat the whites until stiff and add to the chocolate dough; mix carefully with a rubber spatula.

9.       Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake at 160°C (320°F) for 50 minutes.  Test for doneness with a toothpick.  Some crumbs might stick slightly to the toothpick. 

10.       Cool off the cake before icing it.

Prepare the chocolate icing:

1.       Melt the chocolate with the butter and golden syrup in the microwave or in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water.  I usually place the chocolate for 1 minute in the microwave set on 800 W, then stir until the not melted chocolate has dissolved. 

2.       Add the heavy cream to the melted chocolate and mix until you get a uniform chocolate ganache.

3.       Add the chocolate cream mixture to the sieved powdered sugar and mix until you reach the consistency that you like.  If you want the icing to be stiffer, add more some sifted powdered sugar.

Note: If you skip the sieving of the powdered sugar, you will get lumps, no matter how long you have the mixer running. So, if you are going for the perfect result, don’t save on time and don’t skip the step of sieving the sugar.

Ice the almond chocolate cake:

1.       Invert the cake onto your cake plate and remove the bottom of the pan and parchment paper.

2.       Slide 4 strips of aluminum foil under the cake to protect the plate from the icing.

3.       Spread the whole icing on top and sides.  Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds, serve and enjoy!

If you liked this chocolate almond cake, then maybe these recipes will interest you as well:

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