Jessica Elliott Dennison's flourless chocolate cake recipe from new book, Lazy Baking

Here’s one of the most popular recipes served in Edinburgh’s Elliott’s Kitchen

Published 21st Oct 2021
Updated 9 th Aug 2023

This recipe is extracted from Lazy Baking by Jess Dennison (Hardie Grant, £16.99) Photography ©Matt Russell

Elliott’s Flourless Chocolate Cake

MAKES 8 slices (23-cm (9-in) cake)

TAKES 25 minutes, plus 45 minutes baking time

From day one this has been our top-seller at Elliott’s, so I’m almost embarrassed to share just how easily you can recreate it at home. Simply melt chocolate and butter in a pan, throw in salt, sugar, cocoa and eggs and, after some time in the oven, you’re onto the richest, fudgiest most crowd-pleasing pudding ever. I’ve discovered that the chocolate cake tastes incredible when frozen too – think chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, but lazier!

200g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

200g butter (salted or unsalted), plus 1 tablespoon for greasing

teaspoon sea salt flakes

250g soft brown sugar (light or dark brown work equally well)

70g cocoa powder, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting

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6 eggs

1 First, gently melt the chocolate and butter with the salt in a large, high-sided saucepan over a low heat. At the point of being almost melted, remove from the heat – the chocolate and butter will continue to melt in the residual heat.

2 Next, preheat the oven to 180C fan (400F/gas 6) and use the extra tablespoon of butter to grease a 23-cm springform cake tin, then line the base and sides with baking paper.

3 Using a balloon whisk, stir the sugar and cocoa powder into the chocolate mixture – by this point, it should be a comfortable enough temperature for you to dip your finger into. Crack in the eggs and continue to whisk until smooth and glossy.

4 Scrape the batter into the lined tin and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen slightly. Remove

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from the oven. At this point the cake will collapse slightly and become all truffle-y and rich! Allow to cool completely then using a small sieve, dust with the extra cocoa powder.

5 This cake keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days and is ridiculously good served with strained natural yoghurt.

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Gaby Soutar is a lifestyle editor at The Scotsman. She has been reviewing restaurants for The Scotsman Magazine since 2007 and edits the weekly food pages.
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