Ze Flourless

Flourless chocolate cake has a unique feeling on the tongue. At first it does feel almost floury and cake-like, but rapidly melts into a luscious, molten pool. The density of the cake (and all the fat) prolongs the sensation, meaning a little goes a long way (though not if you’re either one of my daughters…then a lot goes a long way).

I prefer a pretty simple presentation for flourless, but then I like a simple presentation for most things. I just slice and serve. A very simple and classy alternative is a dusting of cocoa powder, which makes your guests feel as though they’re eating a giant truffle (and in many respects they are). For that I recommend dusting the cake before you cut it, just put a little cocoa in a small sieve and tap it gently until you have the coverage you want. You can do the same thing with a slice on a plate, but then anything from a gentle breeze to a finger to a rolling raspberry can mess up the presentation.

If you don’t like the little pits and such on the top and want a more uniform look, you can also turn the cake over, provided it’s nice and cold and firm. Simply unmold it from the springform pan, invert a plate on top, flip the whole thing over and (gently) peel off the springform bottom and parchment paper. Easy. And in fact you’ll need to do that very thing if you want to transfer a flourless onto a platter. If you don’t like the way the bottom looks (mine always has a stippled pattern on it from my cheapo industrial springform), just flip it a second time onto yet another plate or platter. No biggie.