What do you get when you are making gluten-free Molten Chocolate Cake and you leave out the butter (or in my case, coconut oil)? Well, you don’t get Molten Chocolate Cake, but you get something pretty wonderful. At least that’s what I and my three co-workers think!
I started out making Molten Chocolate Cake—a recipe from Brooke Parkhurst, the owner of the dedicated gluten-free Triple Oak Bakery–before work this morning. (I like baking in the mornings because it’s very quiet and I can catch that early morning light for my photos.) The cake was going to be today’s entry for Suite of Sweets for Sweethearts. However, as I was folding the chocolate mixture into the whipped egg whites, I saw the coconut oil still sitting unused on the stovetop.
“Uh oh!” I thought, with a momentary flash of panic, but then I thought of chocolate mousse and lighter desserts like chocolate pavlova, so I told myself to “roll with it, Shirley” and continued on.
I’m very glad I did. I enjoy Molten Chocolate Cake as much as the next person, and it can feel like you’ve won the lottery when you discover it on the dessert menu at fine restaurants (always ensure gluten-free status, of course). But sometimes dessert should be lighter, but naturally so.
This accidental dessert, which I’ll call Un-Molten Chocolate Cake, is similar to a chocolate mousse or classic flourless chocolate cake in texture and its lovely chocolate taste, but it’s much lighter overall. It’s airy and somewhat sponge-like, but delightfully so.
My presentation of this dessert is obviously very simple, but if you want something more eye-catching and impressive, you can easily dress this Un-Molten Chocolate Cake up with some raspberry coulis, some sliced strawberries or whole raspberries (in a heart pattern, perhaps?), a drizzle of dessert wine, or a dollop of coconut whipped cream (either Honey Whipped Cream or Honey Cinnamon Whipped Cream would make a lovely topping).
You can scroll down to get both recipes—“mine” and Brooke’s—immediately if you like. But let me share a little more about Brooke Parkhurst. Brooke has celiac disease and has been gluten free for many years. She previously served as the pastry chef at Four and Twenty Blackbirds, an acclaimed, but now-closed restaurant near where she lives.
Her Triple Oak Bakery has been in operation for a few years now. It’s in charming Sperryville Virginia in Rappahannock County, which is considered the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. We pass by it going and coming on the way to our mountain property (but usually not during its hours of operation). Update: While the brick and mortar version of Triple Oak Bakery is no longer in business, I’m happy to report that you can currently find Triple Oak Bakery here and here.
Brooke gave a great baking presentation to my support group last year. She shared her own culinary history, favorite resources, and tips with us … talking away, all the while making scones. To create scones, she simply uses her favorite biscuit recipe but alters it slightly by adding ¼ cup to ½ cup of sugar (the amount is dependent upon personal taste and/or the specific ingredients that are being added) and forms the dough into a thin circle before cutting into wedges. One of our families (long-time friends of Brooke) had brought some of their own fresh blueberries to share for our group meal, so she added about a cup of those to the dough to make blueberry scones.
As we were nearing the conclusion of our meeting, she pulled the scones out of the oven. Yes, hot blueberry scones for our dessert and “closing” that evening. They tasted so good and we were so grateful! Brooke also brought several other of her baked goods, some to share and some to sell. There were Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies, Brownies, and more that I can’t recall, but my personal favorite was her Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.
Brooke Parkhurst Making Blueberry Scones in My Kitchen
Here’s a quick synopsis of what Brooke shared with my group.
~ She has always relied on her own gluten-free all-purpose flour mix; it’s a mix of rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch/flour. More recently, she has used arrowroot powder instead of potato starch to accommodate regular customers who can’t tolerate potatoes. When baking, she usually adds ½ tsp xanthan gum for every 2 cups of her flour mix.
~ There are lots of ways to “glue” gluten-free baked good together besides xanthan gum. Brooke suggests adding another egg, using ground or whole chia or flax seeds to make “chia eggs” or “flax eggs.” She says that you can also add one packet of unflavored gelatin for every 2 cups of flour mix. Agar, a gelatinous substance from seaweed, may also be used. Last, sour cream, cream fraiche, or yogurt may be used instead of liquid to moisten and bind baked goods.
~ When looking for new recipes, explore cuisines that may use less wheat; e.g., Indian, Thai, Japanese, Afghani. Adapt recipes to be 100% gluten free. Changes may not even be needed.
~ Always look for dishes that have little or no flour as they will convert more easily with fewer or no texture issues. She cited Sponge Cake and Angel Food Cake as easy recipes to “convert,” and, of course, Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Many thanks to Brooke for sharing her Molten Chocolate Cake recipe and her tips! Incidentally, Maren, my support group’s youngest regular attendee and the gluten-free baker at our local farmers market learned how to make apple turnovers from Brooke last year in a one-on-one cooking class. Maren’s been making them every week as one of her offerings at the farmers market and everyone loves them!
Here are both recipes—my adaptation of gluten-free Molten Chocolate Cake that is pictured with all the photos and Brooke’s original recipe. Both are naturally gluten free and naturally grain free as well. And both can easily be made dairy free and/or refined sugar free. I don’t think you can go wrong with simple changes to this recipe!
Gluten-Free Un-Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe
My Gluten-Free Un-Molten Chocolate Cake
This oil-free, "unmolten" Chocolate Cake is lighter but still as luscious as the original version.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces gluten-free bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips or a quality, gluten-free chocolate bar broken into pieces
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (or coconut sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease 3 ramekins with butter.
- Separate three eggs.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and let cool just a tad.
- In one medium-sized bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar and mix into the chocolate.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
- Fold the chocolate into the egg whites.
- Pour the batter into the ramekins until they are about 2/3 full.
- Bake in a preheated 400F oven for about 7 minutes.
- Let cool according to your personal preference or schedule. Eat right out of the ramekin with a spoon.
Notes
Dress up/fancify with some raspberry coulis, some sliced strawberries or whole raspberries, a drizzle of a dessert wine, mocha syrup, or a dollop of coconut whipped cream (either Honey Whipped Cream or Honey Cinnamon Whipped Cream would make a lovely topping).
Gluten-Free Molten Chocolate Cake Recipe
The classic flourless and grain-free chocolate cake sized just for you or you and up to two more loved ones--if you believe in sharing, that is! LOL Some nice variations on this are adding chili and cinnamon for a spicy flair (as seen here), a raspberry coulis or perhaps some delicious whipped cream. This dessert is so simple that anything you put on it will taste absolutely marvelous. In addition, you can prepare the batter days ahead of time and cook it the night of. One warning though, I've found that it is sometimes a little difficult to get them out of the ramekin so if you find a way to do it better, then please tell me!Brooke’s Gluten-Free Molten Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Angela says
Now I have a sizable backlog of things that I just MUST make – they all look way too good to pass up! Where to start…..hmmm…..
Seriously, these look awesome and just in time for Valentines!
Thanks, and I’ll report back in once I made them and properly taste tested them 😉
Shirley says
Hi Angela–I think you’ve been doing great on trying out gfe recipes so far! 🙂 Either version of this cake is super easy to make so you can take them off the backlog list quickly. 😉 Yes, please let us know what you think!
Shirley
Ricki says
I’m guessing Mr GFE doesn’t check the blog regularly–or else will he see his V-Day card for this year? 😉 The cake looks great–very light and airy! Molten cakes are great, too, of course, but this with some ice cream would be just as wonderful. 🙂
Shirley says
Hi Ricki–As I shared on Twitter, these cards shown are “vintage” … at least 20 years old. Our collection dates back 35 years actually. Crazy, I know, but they come in handy as decorations for our biennial Valentine’s Day bash! Yes, this cake would be lovely with some ice cream. 🙂
Thanks!
Shirley
Kalinda says
What a happy accident. It does look light and airy.
Shirley says
Thanks, Kalinda! I’m tickled that you chose this recipe for your weekly gf/vegetarian roundup. 🙂 There were SO many great ones this week!
Shirley
Georgie says
Thanks for the great recipes. By the way where did you get that great little blue and white ramekin with the lid?
Shirley says
Hi Georgie–You’re welcome! I appreciate the kind words. 🙂 My sister gave the ramekin to me many years ago for my birthday. It came from the Henn Workshop pottery company. It’s actually a butter crock and can be seen here, but I don’t see the lid. http://hennworkshops.com/p/1205/American-Made-PotteryServing-Butter-Crock-Blue-Spongeware-sc-78/ I wonder if that was a special. I don’t normally use it as a crock and I don’t normally use the lid, except as a “prop.”
Shirley
Katrina (GF Gidget) says
Oh YUM!!!
Shirley says
Katrina–Thanks! 🙂
Shirley
susan says
Must…try…cake…. Lol. Dangit, Shirley, it looks so good. Maybe this will be my valentines day thing. I have some heart shaped baking cups that never see the light of day.
Shirley says
Oh, susan, in heart-shaped baking cups, these cakes would be adorable and tastes even more delicious! 😉
Shirley
Ina Gawne says
Shirley – both of these recipes look outstanding! I love your happy accident – and also how “spongy” it looks – must taste divine! 🙂
Shirley says
Thank you, Ina! Happy accidents do make one feel like the “gods have smiled upon them.” 😉
Shirley
Alisa says
This looks amazing! I’ve been experimenting with different subs for xanthan gum – I only wish I could use eggs in recipes for Tony!
Shirley says
Hey Alisa–I know … bummer. I don’t think that egg subs would work in this recipe, but I did just pin an eggless chocolate mousse that would be adaptable with dairy-free chocolate and dairy-free whipped cream. 🙂
Shirley
Edie says
This looks AMAZING!!
Shirley says
Hi Edie–Thank you!! We all enjoyed it very much! 🙂
Shirley
SherriS. says
Looks divinely delicious! I’m glad you shared both recipes with us Shirley…will have to try these soon too.
Off topic but wanted to share with you Shirley – that I ate in Richmond today for my sister’s birthday. CanCan Restaurant was not great for gf eating. Ambiance and service got an A+ but not enough choices on the menu and there was a crouton hidden in my salad:(
Shirley says
Sherri–Hope you do get to try them. Will look forward to your review! 🙂
Oh, no, I’m sorry about CanCan. Finding a crouton in one’s salad is one of the worst experiences! A good tip is to follow the directions that the Outback family of restaurants give and request that your salad be newly made in a different bowl. When you ask for that, usually the light bulb goes on, as many gluten-full ingredients can get thrown into one big bowl and then that’s used to serve from. 🙁 I’ve only eaten at CanCan once, but it was a great experience that time.
Shirley
Tracey Mardon says
Just a caution about “good quality chocolate”, not all of the good quality chocolates are gluten free. Check before using!
InTolerant Chef says
What a happy accident indeed, two recipes for the price of one!
Shirley says
InTolerant Chef–Yes! Love when that happens. 😉
Shirley
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
Ha this post made me giggle a bit. We’ve all left out that one supposed important ingredient and ended up with some random weirdo final product. Sometimes it’s a total hot mess, other times you end up with an amazing happy accident result. So congrats on an amazing happy accident cake 🙂 It looks delicious and airy.
Shirley says
Beth–I suppose we all have, but not everyone admits it! 😉 “Total hot mess.” LOL Yes, sometimes that’s the case. I was just reading that cake wrecks can be used to make cake pops. Now that’s a great way to use the results of a “failed” recipe!
Shirley
Susan says
Yum, yum, yum. Looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing the great tips too!
Shirley says
Hi Susan–It’s definitely yummy, but thank you! So glad you enjoyed the post. You should make one of these easy flourless cakes. 😉
Shirley
Kim (Cook IT Allergy Free) says
Ha! Love how the lighter version came to be. Sounds just like me… I think that this would be a perfect addition to our Valentine’s Day dessert of chocolate fondue. 🙂
By the way, I love all of Brooke’s ideas for binding gf baked goods without xanthan gum. I had recently tried the gelatin in my calzone dough and was amazed at the results!!
xo
k
Shirley says
Hi Kim–Thanks! I suspect you all were too “chocolated out” to have this dessert, but I think you will approve when you do try it! 🙂
Good to know on the gelatin. I have heard that before. I’m now craving calzone–thank you! 😉 Will that be on your blog? (She says with her fingers crossed … it’s hard to type with crossed fingers!) Have you tried psyllium husks or powder yet? I’m going to get some as soon as I go to the pharmacy again.
xo,
Shirley
Asmita says
Looks so delicious! Anything with chocolate and I am in.
Shirley says
Hi Asmita–Thanks so much, and welcome to gfe! 🙂 I think you will love this light, but decidedly chocolate dessert! 😉
Shirley
April J Harris says
I love how you just went with it and a ‘mistake’ turned into something wonderful, Shirley! That’s great inspiration for us all! Your Un-Molten Chocolate Cake looks gorgeously light and flavourful. My mouth was watering reading about the treats from the Triple Oak Bakery – I wish it was closer to where I live! Sharing your post. Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Shirley Braden says
Thanks, April! I have to say that some of my best creations have come from mistakes, so even when they don’t all turn out to be “something wonderful,” I laugh and keep on keeping on. 😉 Oh, yes, Triple Oak Bakery is a treat. They’ve even been featured in Saveur!
Thanks for hosting Hearth and Soul Hop and all your sharing! Happy weekend! 🙂
Shirley
swathi says
That is delicious chocolate cake. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop. pinning.
Shirley Braden says
Thank you, Swathi! It is a lovely little cake—molten or unmolten. I’m proud of my mistake. 😉
Shirley