Ina's Decadent (Gluten Free) Chocolate Cake

We’re going through some diet trial and error here at Cassandra’s Kitchen. Over the summer I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and it was recommended that I eat gluten free to combat inflammation (it's working!!).  For the time being I'm eating gluten free and Cindy has been gluten free for years, so it seemed appropriate to share Ina Garten’s incredible Decadent (Gluten Free!) Chocolate Cake (it’s so good, you’ll say ‘gluten who?’). Eliminating gluten has helped me to eat a cleaner overall diet - so I didn't feel one bit guilty indulging in this awesome cake!! 

I decided to bake this cake for my cousin's birthday. Her daughter is gluten free too and I knew that she would enjoy it. The Decadent Chocolate Cake recipe is written gluten free. There’s only a tablespoon of gluten free flour - we use Cup4Cup, and it’s fairly low in sugar. We lovingly refer to it as a ‘healthy’ cake. Haha. 

I didn’t have an 8 inch springform pan and I worried that a 9 inch pan would make the cake too thin. Luckily, I borrowed a smaller one from my friend. It was only 7.5 inches, so I kept it in the oven a bit longer to compensate.  

My biggest piece of advice is to be very careful when you transfer it to a cake plate. I recommend using a big spatula like this. My cake in the photos actually cracked when I transferred it, but once it was covered with chocolate you couldn’t even tell. 

It was REALLY good but definitely decadent, so we added some ice cream. Thank you Ina for this gluten free dream!!

--Cassandra

 

Decadent (Gluten Free!) Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1 pound plus 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate such as Lindt, broken into chunks
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1 tablespoon gluten-free flour, such as Cup4Cup
1½ tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, separated
¼ cup heavy cream
Coffee or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Place the one pound of chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Off the heat, immediately stir in the butter, flour, sugar, coffee granules, and salt with a rubber spatula. Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until they form soft peaks. Scrape the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold them in very carefully with a rubber spatula, just until combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 15 minutes exactly. (Be sure your oven temperature is accurate!)

Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven, leaving the door slightly ajar. Allow the cake to cool in the oven for 1 hour. The cake will sink in the middle.

Carefully release the sides of the pan and slide the cake onto a flat serving plate or cake stand. Place the 3 ounces of chocolate and the heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat just until the chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Add a drop of cream if the mixture is too thick to pour. Pour the chocolate onto the sunken part of the cake, leaving the edge unfrosted. 

Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream.

Copyright 2014, Make It Ahead by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved

..........................................

If you enjoyed this post you might also like In The Kitchen - Healthy-ish Muffins.