Fallen Chocolate Cake
Andrea Potischman
Mar 22, 2023
Not all cakes are created equal or considered beautiful, by modern-day standards. The fallen chocolate cake is the most well-known of all the “ugly” cakes. Despite that, I still find it remarkably intoxicating. The cake’s cracks are inviting and its uneven top is a curiosity. What lurks beneath that delicate sugary top layer is a question I want to know the answer to. And even as one who typically prefers vanilla cake, I’m lured in by it all.
Richard Sax
Fallen chocolate cakes have been a trendy thing for a long time and have shown no sign of slowing down. This lovely version is from the late Richard Sax. Sax, for those unfamiliar, was a celebrated food writer, cookbook author, and champion of home cooking. It is “classic home desserts“, like this one, that Sax is most famous for. And I can attest, that this cake is worthy of its fame, a delicate, cloud-like masterpiece that is incredibly satisfying.
A cake described as, “stunningly beautiful and ridiculously tasty”, which is the perfect description for this flour-less favorite. Never tasted a flourless cake before, think super chocolatey cake with the most amazing fudge-like center. This cake falls and crackles in the loveliest way, creating a tender and light texture underneath that’s truly irresistible.
Light as a Feather
The special handling of the eggs, in this type of cake, creates a soft, silky, and ethereally light texture but with substantial chocolate decadence. In this type of cake, eggs, (or a combination of egg whites and whole eggs or yolks) get blended together incorporating very little air.
As a result, the cake doesn’t rise much when baked and then falls once removed from the oven due to the absence of flour. This is often referred to as a “molten” (or “fallen”) chocolate cake, a cake made famous by master chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
If you want to make this cake even better, there is only one thing to do, add fresh whipped cream. The cream offsets the richness of the cake in the most perfect way possible. This cake is a fantastic option for gluten-free individuals and a dessert I love to make for the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Fallen Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more, room temperature, for pan
- 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided, plus more for pan
- 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Whipped Cream:
- 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
- 1/4 cup Confectioners' sugar
Directions:
- For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter the springform pan and dust it with sugar. Gently tap out any excess sugar and set aside.
- To a large heatproof bowl add the chocolate, oil, and 1/2 cup butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and set aside.
- Separate 4 eggs, placing whites and yolks in separate medium bowls. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla, salt,1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 2 eggs to bowl with yolks, and whisk until smooth. Gently whisk the yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture, and blend well.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a kitchen mixer, such as a KitchenAid, fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar and beat until firm peaks form.
- Using a large rubber tip spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 2 additions. Fold just until incorporated between additions. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake until the top is puffy, starting to crack, and pull away from the edge of the pan, 35-40 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan. The cake will collapse in the center and crack further as it cools.
- For the Whipped Cream: Clean the bowl of the kitchen mixer and add the heavy cream. Use a splatter guard or kitchen towel to prevent splatter. Beat on high until soft peaks have formed. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until firm peaks have formed.
- To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan from the cake. Mound the whipped cream in the center of the cake or slice and serve individually.
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