Chocolate

Cardamom Orange Flourless Chocolate Cake

by:
January 26, 2010
5
7 Ratings
Cardamom Orange Flourless Chocolate Cake
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

A recipe for an easy flourless chocolate cake which is lightly scented with orange zest and cardamon. —ChezUs

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup Good quality unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 10 ounces Good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cardamon
  • 1 whole orange, zested
  • 4 eggs, prefer organic free range
  • 1/2 cup sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt chocolate in a double boiler and then set aside to cool.
  2. Creme room temperature butter until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time until well blended.
  5. Mix in the chocolate, cardamon and orange zest, just until combined.
  6. Pour into a lightly buttered 8" pan, I like to use a tart pan to give it a bit of an elegant look.
  7. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until set, it will not jiggle at all.
  8. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan.
  9. I like to serve a sliver of the cake with fresh berries and either sour cream or creme fraiche that has been sweetened with brown sugar. Serve. Eat
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28 Reviews

Phyllis R.
Phyllis R. October 31, 2016
Can this be made ahead and put in the freezer?
 
Ellabeth
Ellabeth February 24, 2016
Sounds good but how do you measure ingredients in cups? (in ounces/grams) x
 
Ellabeth
Ellabeth February 24, 2016
Oh don't worry I now know! Don't know how to delete this comment xD
 
Liz B.
Liz B. July 5, 2015
Great cake, especially if you're new to GF baking - no alternative flours to buy, although I did end up using garbanzo flour (one of the cheaper GF ones) to flour the pan after I buttered it, just for good measure. I also melted the butter with the chocolate instead of creaming it (couldn't find the right attachments for my hand mixer), and although I was worried about the texture it came out great. Love the flavors of the cardamom and orange zest with the chocolate - very unique. Trying it with cinnamon next time!
 
Sara
Sara May 4, 2014
This cake is awesome! I have made it twice - once with cardamom and once with cinnamon - both excellent. This time, I put it in the 8" tart pan, but unless you have a pretty deep pan, it doesn't really fit. I had to put the rest in a few ramekins.
 
ChezUs
ChezUs May 5, 2014
We love this recipe as well - comes in handy for last minute dessert cravings, especially when you hoard chocolate like we do. Glad you enjoyed it!
 
DocdMomDeb
DocdMomDeb February 13, 2014
I love when cakes giggle!! Will be making this later today...yum!
 
ChezUs
ChezUs May 5, 2014
Giggling is the best part! Hope you enjoyed the recipe.
 
za'atar
za'atar June 12, 2013
Minimal time between thinking "I want chocolate cake" and actually putting in your mouth is a huge plus in my book, and this recipe definitely delivers in that regard. Moist without being too dense, and I love the addition of cardamon. As easy as brownies and fancy enough for company.
 
ChezUs
ChezUs May 5, 2014
Thanks! It is a fave around here. Just made it over the weekend with a dash of spicy chili powder in honor of Cinco de Mayo!
 
Chelsea R.
Chelsea R. April 9, 2013
This cake is amazing. I made two, one test one for dinner with family and one for a friend's birthday party. We ate the entire test one between 5 people at family dinner. We'll see how it goes at the birthday dinner tomorrow. I'm pretty sure swimmingly might be how it will go.
 
abbyarnold
abbyarnold January 28, 2013
Warning: before you make this cake, make sure you like the taste of cardamon. The cake bakes up nicely (I made it 1.5x the recipe in an 11 inch tart pan) but the cardamon did not appeal to me with the chocolate.
 
latte
latte August 18, 2012
To make this recipe dairy-free, what do you suggest to replace the butter?
Please no margarine. What kind and how much oil would do the trick? Thx.
 
zoomorphic
zoomorphic January 8, 2012
What size tart pan should I use?
 
ChezUs
ChezUs January 9, 2012
HI - I use a 8" tart pan. Just made a change to the recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
 
Renee's K.
Renee's K. April 16, 2011
We made this about a month ago and it was delicious! We are making it again for Passover!
 
ChezUs
ChezUs April 18, 2011
Happy Passover. I am happy to hear that you love this recipe. I do as well. Have you played with flavors at all? Sometimes I like to mix it up by using orange, chili, lime, etc... have fun with it. Let me know how your Passover turns out!

Denise
 
Renee's K.
Renee's K. April 21, 2011
Thank you Denise! We did not try any other flavor for this as of yet. I love the idea of adding chili to it though! We just love the orange and cardamom and how it hints at those flavors without being overpowering. It's simply divine! We are actually making it again this weekend for other guests. It's a huge hit!
 
Woody W.
Woody W. February 25, 2011
I added a new photo because the cake in fact isn't red in its finished form -- I'd like to add that it took me 4 failed tries to get this right as I tried to shortcut it - a mistake. If the butter is slightly too cold or you don't add the eggs one at a time they don't blend right and it doesn't work. I should also add that even a heavily buttered pan will have a hard time turning the cake out - once I floured the pan it came out fine.

I also tried it minus the orange zest and it was equally good, though less original.
 
ChezUs
ChezUs February 25, 2011
Hi Woody (Wood or Woodward); if it is Woodward, that is the same as my last name. I am sorry to hear that you have some many failed attempts on this recipe. It is a stand-by, that I have made more times then my hips would like to remember. There are a few factors that could have failed the recipe for you; oven temps not being even (I keep 4 gauges in 4 corners of our oven to monitor), weather (humid, rainy, too cold) or even ingredients will cause a recipe not to work. Do keep in mind if you flour the pan, it is no longer gluten free, unless you use GF flours. Don't give up; try it again.

Thanks for the photo, much nicer then the one I took. I need to remake this cake just to take the photo over. ;)
 
marigael
marigael June 4, 2021
With a chocolate cake use unsweetened cocoa instead of flour to dust the sides and bottom of the cake pan. I've experienced that it works just as good as using flour. It is gluten free and the cocoa blends into the color of the chocolate batter.
 
nymangosteen
nymangosteen February 14, 2010
This is an amazing recipe -- we LOVED the results. One question - why is the cake in the photo red-ish? Ours didn't look anything like the photo...
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian January 27, 2010
I love cardamom and have been looking for a great chocolate cake/torte with it. I recently put together a chocolate tasting and taught a chocolate class and have literally 4 very large containers full of chocolate to be experimented with! Such a problem. I look forward to trying this one with some of my stash.Thanks for posting!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames January 27, 2010
As my wise mother would say, "The rest of the world should have your problems, dear!!" ;o)
 
gabrielaskitchen
gabrielaskitchen January 27, 2010
cardomom + orange = delight! Maybe pair this with my sangria de noche buena (also flavored with cardemom and orange)...or would that be overload?
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames January 27, 2010
That sounds heavenly!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames January 27, 2010
Orange and cardamom are such a lovely combination together. I bet this is heavenly! Love the photo, too. I'd have no problem whatsoever with Step 9 (Serve. Eat.) ;o)
 
ChezUs
ChezUs January 26, 2010
This is a very elegant but easy dessert. I bring it to all of the dinner parties we get invited too - bit hit!