French Chocolate Cake Recipe - Allrecipes.com
French Chocolate Cake Recipe
  • READY IN ABOUT 2½ hrs

French Chocolate Cake

Read Reviews (41)

"This is typical of a French homemade cake - dense, dark, and delicious. It is a European sponge cake, with a different texture than its American counterparts. It is excellent dusted with confectioners' sugar and served with lightly sweetened whipped cream or a fruit coulis." —  

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Original recipe makes 1 9-inch cake Change Servings
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Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Generously grease a 9-inch springform cake tin. Dust with a little sugar, and tap out the excess.
  2. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Place the chocolate, butter, and remaining sugar in a large, heavy-based pan. Cook over moderate heat until the chocolate and butter have melted, and the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the vanilla, and leave the mixture to cool slightly.
  3. Beat the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour.
  4. In a large bowl, scrupulously clean and grease-free, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, and beat to stiff peaks. Sprinkle reserved sugar over egg whites, and beat until stiff and glossy. Use a whisk or spatula to fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining whites. Carefully pour batter into the prepared tin, and tap the tin gently to release air bubbles.
  5. Bake until well risen and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check the cake after 30 minutes: if the cake appears to rise unevenly, rotate after 30 to 35 minutes. If the cake starts to crack or become too brown, place a piece of foil lightly over the top. Transfer the cake to a wire cooling rack, and remove the sides of the springform tin. Cool completely, and then remove the base. Do not attempt to remove the cake before it's completely cooled as this cake is very fragile.
Kitchen-Friendly View
  • PREP 35 mins
  • COOK 45 mins
  • READY IN 2 hrs 20 mins
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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review
Jan 05, 2007

I think this cake is great! Working as a pastry baker, I have made cakes like this before. The cake usually sinks in a little at the top after cooling. I like to fill the indention with whipped cream, freeze it overnight and then glaze with a melted ganache icing. Sooo elegant but still pretty easy.

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Most Helpful Critical Review
Sep 11, 2003

I followed the directions but this did not turn out at all-I ended up throwing it out. Sorry!

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45 Ratings

Feb 16, 2005

I had to do a report on France for my Global Studies class and I decided to make this for everyone in the class. Everyone loved it! Also, I took it to my French teacher whom lived in France for 30 years and she said that indeed, it was French, and she wanted the recipe, as well as 4 other teachers!

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Sep 15, 2010

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical, especially after it came out of the oven and it looked so dry on the outside. I was afraid that it was just going to be a dry, crispy mess. Boy was I wrong!!!! This was absolutely delicious!!! It had the richness of a chocolate cake without the sickly sweetness that you get from traditional cakes. I served it with raspberry sauce and homemade whipped cream and everyone thought it was great!

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May 14, 2006

I was concerned about the cake having only 1/4c flour so I doubled it and it turned out to be about the consistency of a brownie. Everyone loved the flavor and it was very pretty with the powdered sugar sprinkled over the top. I will make again. It would be very good with a raspberry sauce or drizzled with a chocolate syrup. Update: I've made this cake several times without adding more flour and it is wonderful as written! I do sometimes substitute bittersweet for some of the semi-sweet to give it a richer chocolate taste. Fantastic!

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Apr 30, 2007

It's my go-to recipe for a rich, dense and impressive cake for get-togethers. People always ask for the recipe! If you don't have cream of tartar on hand, a pinch of salt will do just fine. I serve the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar and strawberry or raspberry sauce on the side.

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Jul 15, 2003

I LOVE this torte. It is very rich and flavourful. I always serve this for desert when I have dinner parties - everyone asks for the recipe. I use the recipe for Raspberry Sauce, and top the torte with that, along with fresh whipped cream (no fake stuff for this desert!)

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Feb 08, 2006

Lovely cake - rich on chocolate (used chocolate with 56% cacao content), but not too sweet. The texture was slightly brownie-like...not sure why because I was careful with the amount of flour after reading the reviews. Served it with rasberrry sauce and whipped cream for my BF's bday. He loved it! Bonus part... the cake kept well for over a week (it's just the 2 of us). Will definitely make again. The Hague, Netherlands

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Nutrition

  • Calories
  • 294 kcal
  • 15%
  • Carbohydrates
  • 24.3 g
  • 8%
  • Cholesterol
  • 119 mg
  • 40%
  • Fat
  • 21.1 g
  • 32%
  • Fiber
  • 1.7 g
  • 7%
  • Protein
  • 4.7 g
  • 9%
  • Sodium
  • 63 mg
  • 3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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