For a simple but elegant dessert, dust this delicious gluten-free cake with confectioners’ sugar, European style. It can also be used for layer cakes, such as our Chocolate Decadence Cake. (If you want to make two cakes to frost with butter cream, it’s better to mix and bake each one separately rather than doubling the ingredients. A double batch of batter can be tricky to handle unless you are a very experienced baker.)
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, cut up, plus extra for greasing cake pan
- 4 ounces 70 percent dark chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ cup (1¾ ounces) quinoa flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa, such as Hershey’s
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 large eggs, separated
- ⅔ cup (5 ounces) white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Confectioners' sugar
- Whipped cream, optional
- Fresh raspberries, optional
Directions
Heat the oven to 350° F. Grease the sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with butter and line the base with baking parchment.
Place the butter in a heavy-based pan over low heat and let melt. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan by the handle to mix. Let stand for 3 minutes, then stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
Combine the quinoa flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
Using a hand-held mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold very soft peaks. In a separate bowl, but using the same beaters (no need to wash), beat the egg yolks well and add the sugar little by little. Beat until smooth and creamy, a minute or two, and add the vanilla. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Stir in 13 of the egg whites, to loosen the batter. Sift the flour mixture on top and fold in. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites. Spoon the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 30 minutes, until the cake is just firm to a light finger pressure. An inserted toothpick should emerge very slightly sticky.
Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then loosen the sides with a knife blade and turn out onto a cake rack. Gently peel off the baking parchment, and let cool upside down, so the smooth base is uppermost. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving. Enjoy plain or with optional whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Nutritional Analysis:
Calories: 310, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 5 g, Fat: 20 g, Cholesterol: 100 mg, Sodium: 50 mg, Fiber: 3 g
Recipes © copyright 2013 by Jacqueline Mallorca. The author of more than a dozen cookbooks, Jackie Mallorca’s most recent titles include The Wheat-Free Cook and Gluten-Free Italian.
