I haven’t made these little cakes in three years, and I’d forgotten how good they are. The last time I blogged about them there was a flurry of communal internet baking, with my friends Joanna and Heidi both trying out the recipe with great success.
I’d also forgotten how quick and easy they are to make – I had fifteen minutes yesterday to get something into the oven, and a quick peruse of our Cakes and Cookies archive turned these up.
This time I made them with luxurious Amedei ‘9’ chocolate – a blend sourced from nine different plantations – clocking in at a dark 75% cacao. The end results were moist, moreish and very grown up, with a soft, tender crumb…
Here’s the recipe again:
Little Chocolate Cakes
(originally by Jill Dupleix)
- 200g (7 oz) dark chocolate, chopped or in callet form (I used Amedei ‘9’, a 75% cacao blend)
- 100g (3½ oz) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 120g (½ cup) unsalted butter, chopped
- 100g (3½ oz) blanched almond meal (ground almonds)
- 4 large (59g) free range eggs, separated
- icing sugar, for dusting (confectioner’s sugar)
1. Line 12 muffin pan holes with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 180C/360F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. Place the butter, chocolate and caster sugar in a large pyrex mixing bowl and melt them together in the microwave, using short bursts on high and stirring frequently (alternatively, use a double boiler on the stove). Be careful not to scorch the chocolate. The mixture should be smooth and glossy. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Stir the almond meal into the chocolate mixture, then beat the egg yolks in one at a time.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir a large spoonful of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, and then gently fold in the remainder.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin liners, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. The cakes will rise a little as they bake, but flatten as they cool. Be careful not to overcook them. Allow the cakes to rest in the muffin pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
These little cakes are easy to make, gluten-free, and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee. Because there are so few other ingredients, the flavour of the chocolate really shines – it’s a great recipe for showcasing a special blend. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Grown Up little chocolate cakes! Well I Must try these. i am feeling a little like something sweet. this happens once or twice a year..but I cannot eat almonds so i shall have to find a sub.. take care darling girl! c
Hazelnut meal should work well too, Celi, and probably other nuts as well! xx
They look yummy!
Thank you, they were! :)
Flourless chocolate cake would have to be my all all-time favourite! I love the idea of mini ones instead of one big one. Yum Celia!
Claire, the mini ones are very civilised, although portion control gets thrown to the wind when we eat three in one sitting! :)
Sounds divine, Celia. Will the chocolate mixture be okay melted on the stove over hot water?
Mary, yes, the original instructions were to do that. I just use the microwave because I find it easier! :)
Delicious, thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoy them!
I’m not sure why I missed this recipe the first time round! Such rich cakes aren’t usually so quick and easy. They look delicious.
Thanks Suelle! They’re very simple to make!
How lovely! Are there any left for us? xx
Of course, I’ll get the kettle on.. xx
they look great celia..i need to make a big batch for my chocolate loving son and his wheat intolerant girl..x
would you mind celia if i pinned this recipe?
Jane, not at all. I’m glad you like it! It’s nice with all sorts of good chocolate – Joanna made them with a slightly sweeter mix and was really happy with them as well.
thanks dear..x
Yum! These look great! Where do you buy Amadei?
By the way, Celia…thanks again for the tip about Haverick Meats. I went yesterday and got my complimentary half ham, along with great meat for the freezer ( including a lovely leg of lamb), some farm fresh eggs ( because my two chooks, Caramel and Shadow, cant quite keep up with our demand….maybe we should get 2 more chooks?) nice loaf of sourdough (i am making my own, but I am a new bread baker, so this is for research purposes!) and a free range chicken. Time for bacon, eggs and sourdough for brekky :-)
Jaqi, I’m so happy to hear that you made it to Havericks and got your free ham! And meat and eggs and bread as well! We bought our latest chooks from City Chicks, and they’re great, but they don’t lay nearly as regularly as our ISA browns did. Having said that, we have five chooks, and certainly don’t need an egg a day each from them, so it works well for us.
Re the Amedei chocolate, pop over and visit my friend Tania at http://www.mykitchenstories.com.au/ – she works for Lario’s who import the Amedei, and she’ll be able to let you know where to buy some (be warned, it’s expensive). If you want a cheaper alternative, there is very good Callebaut and Sicao chocolate available at Chefs’ Warehouse in Surry Hills.
Lovely! Thanks Celia :-) Caramel is an ISA brown. They’re great chooks, aren’t they! :-) happy Sunday to you and the family :-)
Celia, these little cakes sound just delightful! Mmmmmelt in the mouth even!
Thanks darling – I tried to break one in half for the photo, and it just came apart in my hands, it was so tender!
That’s wonderful, because sometimes small cakes are not as lusciously moist as large ones. Sounds like you’ve hit the jackpot here, Celia!
These are so delightful – and look amazing!
Thank you! They were dead easy to make!
I am not a huge sweets person, but these do sound delicious! I like that they’re small and quick to make.
They’re also not very sweet when made with the 75% dark chocolate!
Oh Celia I currently have the sourdough and the regular wholemeal loaf rising, I came for a quick squiz online before I wash up everything. Looks like I won’t be washing up for a while — will let you know how it goes.
Hahaha…sorry to do that to you, Rose. Hope you liked them! :)
Love these miniature cakes! So cute and delicious! :)
Thank you – they were just the right size for sharing!
Perfect timing for my Sunday morning baking session! I do love a nice flour less chocolate cake/muffin. Makes me feel so virtuous eating more than my fair share.
I find them quite rich and can only get through one at a sitting, but Pete can manage a couple. Hope you like them Nancy! :)
I had forgotten about these!!!
Thanks for the reminder- making them tomorrow! :)
Hooray! Have fun Heidi! xx
G’day! They look terrific Celia and wish I could come through the screen to um, borrow one right now! :)
Cheers! Joanne
Joanne, wish I could share! :)
Oh, how delicious!
Thanks Tandy – easy too! :)
Guess what littlej is making for us tomorrow Celia? Thanks for such yummy inspiration sweetie xox
Hooray LittleJ! Write it up on the board! :) xxx
Yum Celia. How do you keep coming up with all these wonderful recipes?? Hope you and the family are enjoying the weekend:)
Hi Jody, we’ve had a wonderful weekend, thank you! Hope you have too!
Quick and moist and chocolatey? Definitely bookmarking this one, thanks!
And dead easy too – don’t forget that! :)
Oh yay, a new yummy gluten free recipe to try! They look lovely, thank you!
Ardys, I think they’d work well with other nut flours as well, such as hazelnut!
Celia those look spectacular!
I might get some special chocolate to take home and make something special like these
I hope you do, Sally! Phil would love them! :)
These are gorgeous and would be so lovely at parties, or after school, or to take to an afternoon tea, or to the swimming carnival etc, etc. And you’d be the most popular mum around with a basket of these under your arm! I love how dark they are xx
Thanks love, I reckon they might be too dark for the kids, but perfect for us grown-ups!
I was lucky enough to get a block of “Nine” from Tania and it’s an amazing chocolate. I also made chocolate cake with it. What gorgeous lil treats :)
It’s amazing stuff, isn’t it?
As one teen has given up chocolate for a year (copying the other teen who did the same last year) our chocolate cake cooking has ground to a halt. But I’ll be back to this for sure.
Sally, every time you leave a comment like that, I’m grateful I have starving boys who will eat whatever I put in front of them.. :)
Nummers! Thanks for this. I have some almond meal that I bought to make macarons, but these sound better. Now to buy some good chocolate…. Hugs, Maz.
Maz, get the best you can find, it makes a huge difference here! :) xxx
These sound delicious, Celia. I’ll be sending the link to my gluten-challenged friends and family members. They’re always on the lookout for GF chocolate goodies.
John, this is a nice one, because the treats and small and easily shared! It’s very popular here.
Very cute indeed! They look fantastic.
These look devilishly good — I will definitely try them on a very special occasion! Looks like a really nice way to use very good chocolate, too. Or maybe just an excuse to buy some…
oh look at the texture & how moist those cakes look! Must be spring coming or something like that (maybe I don’t even need a reason) but I’ve had a craving for chocolate cake – any form at all but I love just a dusting of sugar on top instead of frosting.
I can see why these little cakes would make a great internet flurry! They are so cute–on top of sounding delicious, of course! :-)
Celia, these would be perfect for a tea party. I should make some and invite someone over for tea. :)
Yum Yum Yum,…these treats look pretty tasty too! Yum.