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Jan 20, 2023

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake, or Gâteau au Chocolate au Vine Rouge sans Farine, is intensely rich in flavor and yet light in texture... like a combination of a chocolate truffle and chocolate mousse. 

Gâteau au Chocolate au Vine Rouge sans Farine in blue bowls with whipped cream.


Take advantage of the leftover red wine in your refrigerator (yes, every once in a while we have some leftover) and make this amazing chocolate-y dessert.

This flourless chocolate cake is incredibly rich and a little bit goes a long way. You can serve it in small slices or scooped into bowls with lots of slightly sweetened whipped cream to balance the richness. 

Plus, there is an entire glass of wine in this cake. 

Gâteau au Chocolate au Vine Rouge sans Farine in small Dutch bowls.


Because this cake is so rich, a little slice will satisfy anyone's sweet tooth. It's the perfect punctuation mark to a steak or roast beef dinner. 

Light the candles. This is definitely a fabulous dessert for a special occasion celebration. 

Ingredient Notes:

First, you will need red wine. I used a glass of pinot noir, but any red wine will do. While you won't actually taste the wine, you will wonder what that "something-something" flavor is. 

You will also need sugar for cooking with the wine to create a syrup. 

For the chocolate, use 66% to 70% cacao dark chocolate. I had some bulk 65% chocolate that I supplemented with 72% chocolate chips, figuring that, between the two, the math would work out. 

Butter... you'll need eleven tablespoons of unsalted butter. I was tempted to switch to salted butter because the original recipe does not include salt, but the wine adds such an interesting note that salt is not needed. 

Finally, you will need eggs. They provide all of the structure to the cake. Be sure they are at room temperature before you beat them. 

Whole Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake on a cake stand.


To Make this Gâteau au Chocolate:

First, create the wine and sugar syrup by bringing the two ingredients to an "almost" simmer and letting the mixture cool. 

Next, melt the chocolate and butter with half of the wine and sugar mixture (slightly more than a half cup) in a double boiler, stirring regularly. 

After that, beat the eggs and the rest of the wine syrup on high speed in a stand mixer until you have a thick and pale mousse. I beat the eggs and syrup in a 5-quart stand mixer and it reached to almost the top of the whisk attachment and within 3 inches of the top of the bowl. This will take quite a while, so be patient. Unlike with egg whites alone, you don't have to worry too much about overbeating them.  

Fold everything together, put it into a 9-inch springform pan, and bake the cake for about 20 to 25 minutes. 

When you let the cake cool, don't be too sad that it collapses and cracks a bit. It will still be delicious. 

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake slices on plates.


The resulting cake is super moist, rich, and airy, all at the same time. Be sure to serve it with lightly sweetened whipped cream to balance the rich chocolate flavor. 

Helpful Tools (Affiliate Links to Recommended Products):

You will definitely need an electric mixer for beating the eggs. I used my 5 quart stand mixer, but my hand mixer would be fine too. It will just take longer (about 10 minutes) and you would have to stand there holding the mixer the entire time. 

You will also need a 9-inch springform pan. The cake is so moist that you can't really turn it out of a standard cake pan. 

A good rubber spatula for folding everything together is essential too. 

You can store this cake at room temperature in the pan topped with foil or plastic wrap. If you transfer it to a plate for serving, leave the cake sitting on the springform pan base so that you can re-attach the pan sides to the bottom for storing. Super easy. 

Sliced or scooped, this cake is amazing. 

Another Similar Flourless Chocolate Recipe You May Also Like:

Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cakes with Cappuccino Whipped Cream



The Cake Slice Bakers logo.



Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.



Gateau cookbook cover.


It is a new year and a new book - Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes - and our choices for January 2023 were ~


Apple and Calvados Cake from Normandy

Orange Blossom Honey Cake

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake


I first heard about this book on The Splendid Table, one of my favorite food related podcasts. Be sure to give it a listen. And buy her book!!! 


Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake in two blue bowls.



Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake

Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake
Yield: 16 servings
Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories
Prep time: 45 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M
Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake, or Gâteau au Chocolate au Vine Rouge sans Farine, is intensely rich in flavor and yet light in texture... like a combination of a chocolate truffle and chocolate mousse.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup red wine
  • 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 300 grams 65% to 70% dark chocolate (bar or good quality chunks)
  • 11 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 5 large eggs, room temperature

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with baking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the sugar and the wine in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture just begins to form tiny bubbles on the sides, turn off the heat and set aside to cool. Do not bring to a full simmer.
  3. In a double boiler, combine the chocolate, butter, and 1/2 of the wine and sugar mixture (about 1/2 cup) and melt, stirring regularly, until smooth. Set aside.
  4. Using a stand mixer, beat the eggs with the other half of the wine mixture until the mixture is thick and pale, about 6 to 10 minutes. The mixture should drop in a ribbon from the whisk when the whisk is lifted.
  5. Stir about a cup of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and then transfer the chocolate mixture to the bowl of the egg mixture. Fold everything together until there are almost no white streaks. Pour the mixture into the springform pan.
  6. Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, until set while the very middle is still slightly jiggly.
  7. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. Wait until it is completely cool before removing from the pan.
  8. Serve with a little bit of whipped cream.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

249.13

Fat (grams)

17.32

Sat. Fat (grams)

10.02

Carbs (grams)

18.36

Fiber (grams)

2.04

Net carbs

16.31

Sugar (grams)

14

Protein (grams)

3.52

Sodium (milligrams)

27.54

Cholesterol (grams)

79.38
cake, chocolate, mousse, flourless
Dessert
French
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