This unique chocolate cloud cake is both light and decadent at the same time. The rich chocolate cake will melt in your mouth as you eat it. This cake is just 4 ingredients and doesn’t require any flour. With its unique taste and appearance, it is an impressive dessert to serve.
At first glance, this may look like just your ordinary flourless chocolate cake, but it’s not. The cake has a delicate, crispy surface and a rich chocolate cake layer that feels like it is melting in your mouth as you eat it. It tastes both light and rich at the same time.
Ingredients
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- Butter
- Eggs
- Sugar
Semisweet chocolate chips: I used semisweet chocolate chips in my version of this cake because it’s the chocolate I always have in my pantry. If you have semisweet chocolate bars, you can chop them up and use them in this cake as well. This cake will not work with milk chocolate or white chocolate.
Butter: I used unsalted butter to make this cake.
Eggs: This recipe uses 6 large eggs. Four of them will need to have the egg yolks and whites separated. The separated egg whites are beaten to stiff peaks and later folded into the cake batter.
Sugar: The cake is sweetened with granulated white sugar. The sugar not only adds sweetness, but it also helps to create the crispy surface. The cake will not develop its delicate top without the added sugar.
What is Chocolate Cloud Cake?
I’ve seen several recipes for chocolate cloud cake and they all seem to be inspired by one first introduced by Richard Sax. The cake is made with the same ingredients used in most flourless chocolate cakes, but with different ratios of sugar, chocolate and butter, resulting in this really unique and delicious cake.
The surface has a delicate crust that intentionally falls and sinks as the cake cools, resulting in crispy wafer-like cookie pieces on the surface. The rest of the cake has a texture similar to a flourless chocolate cake but is somehow much creamier and less dense and melts as you eat it. While some flourless chocolate cakes are so thick and rich that you need some milk to help wash it down, this cake just dissolves on your tongue as you eat it.
Cake Toppings
I added dollops of soft whipped cream on top and chocolate curls to decorate my cake, but the decorations are completely optional. I’ve seen this cake made and served without any topping at all. I like adding the whipped cream because it helps add to the cloud-like texture and also is a good counter to the rich chocolate flavor. It also helps to hide some of the sunken middle of the cake.
More Unique Chocolate Cake Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Fluffy Chocolate Yogurt Cake
- 3 Ingredient Fluffy Chocolate Cheesecake
- 2 Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cake
4 Ingredient Chocolate Cloud Cake
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs 4 separated
- 1/3 cup (63 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (9 oz/255 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and line the interior of an 8 inch round springform cake pan with parchment paper.
- Separate the egg whites and yolks for four of the eggs. Add egg whites to a clean mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add egg yolks, remaining 2 eggs and sugar to a small mixing bowl. Whisk until eggs are completely beaten and egg whites are starting to get a little frothy (about 30 seconds).
- In a separate large mixing bowl, add chocolate and butter. Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave in 15-30 second intervals, stirring in between with a whisk, until chocolate mixture is completely melted, smooth and uniform in color. You can also do this on the stove using the double boiler method.
- Add egg yolk mixture to the chocolate bowl. Mix with a whisk until the batter is smooth and uniform.
- Beat egg whites at highest speed until stiff peaks form. I used a stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer.
- Gently fold in the egg whites into the chocolate batter. Do this in four batches. Add 1/4 of the egg white mixture to your chocolate batter. Fold it in gently with a spatula until no egg white lumps remain (it's okay if there are a few streaks of white in your batter). Make sure you scoop up batter from the very bottom of the bowl each time you fold to make sure all of the batter gets incorporated with the egg whites. Repeat with the next 1/4, then the next 1/4 and then final 1/4.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Place cake into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes. When cake is done, the top should look puffed and slightly cracked. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- As the cake cools, the top will collapse/sink in. This is supposed to happen. Wait for the cake to fully cool before serving. If desired, top the cake with fresh whipped cream and chocolate curls.
Notes
- For the whipped cream frosting, add 1 cup of cold heavy cream and 3 tbsp of sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat on highest speed until soft peaks form. Add dollops of soft whipped cream to the center of the cooled cake.
- Recipe adapted from Richard Sax's chocolate cloud cake.
- Estimated nutrition does not include optional whipped cream frosting.
- Measurements provided are in US standard units.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Looks like a great recipe. Think I’m going to try making it with allulose instead of sugar. It’s nice to have a flourless cake recipe that doesn’t use almonds instead. I don’t really like the texture of the almond flour based cakes. I also haven’t had much success mixing almond flour and coconut flour either.
Let us know how it works for you!
Can the semi-sweet chocolate be replaced with low (or non) sugar dark chocolate ? I have 100% dark cacao bar to use
I haven’t tried with low or unsweetened chocolate so I’m not sure. It may work but you would likely need to make adjustments to the other ingredients.
I imagine you probably could use dark chocolate but you would have to increase whatever sweetener you use to compensate for the difference. You also might have to adjust the amount of chocolate. I’m planning on substituting the sugar for allulose and using sugar free semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the traditional chocolate chips. That way I’m hoping I won’t have to adjust the ratios of the different ingredients.
Ummmmm. Looks good. Can’t wait to make it.
We hope you enjoy it!
Can you use salted butter as that’s what I have on hand?
that should be fine
Salted butter would actually be a good thing because a little bit of salt in chocolate brings out the natural flavors of the chocolate. Without the salt chocolate seems a little flat and one dimensional.
I keep a carton of store bought egg whites in the fridge but an not sure how much equals 4 egg whites….
I don’t have that information. I think it is usually stated on the carton box. But keep in mind this recipe uses the entire egg. You will need egg yolks too.
Can you make this with allulose and sugar free chocolate chips for a diabetic-friendly option or will the results not be the same?
Sorry, but we haven’t tried it with sugar-free chocolate chips. It may work but you would likely need to make adjustments to the other ingredients.
I plan on trying to make this recipe that way myself. Allulose usually works just the same as sugar and things like this so I wouldn’t expect there would be any difference. Just make sure you are chocolate chips are semi-sweet and not dark chocolate because you would have to adjust the amount of value loss up to make up for the difference in the lack of sweetener and dark chocolate compared to sugar-free semi-sweet chocolate chips.
May we use sugar substitutes in this recipe for dieters. Thanks
Sorry I haven’t tested with a sugar substitute
The best ever
We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Merry Christmas Kirbie!
Merry Christmas Kirk!
Marvelous recipe….but question. Can I substitute cocoa powder in this recipe? If yes how much?
Thanks
no it will not work if you substitute chocolate with cocoa powder