Have you ever had the feeling that you have dozens of cookbooks, a fridge full of food but you’re just not sure what to cook? I don’t get that feeling very often, but when I do I always go back to an old favorite. Flourless chocolate cakes are a classic.. but hyped up with fruit and nuts they are just amazing.
The combination of apples, hazelnuts and chocolate was what drew me to this recipe and all I can say is.. I was rewarded by my curiosity! Chocolate and apples are less seen in daily desserts but they go wonderfully well together. Add the crunchiness of some chopped hazelnuts and you have yourself quite the dessert. This cake was easy to make (think 20 minutes preparation maximum) and was an easy way to switch up a basic recipe.
Recipe (adapted from Valrhona), serves 8
2 small Granny Smith apples
1/3 cup of hazelnuts, chopped
250 grams of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
3 egg yolks
4 teaspoons of cornstarch
3 tablespoons of liquid honey
3 egg whites
Confectioner’s sugar
Preheat your oven to 375ºF / 190ºC.
Prepare an 8-inch or 9-inch springform pan (at least 2 inches deep) and grease the bottom and the sides. Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/2-inch dice and set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a light boil. Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let cool for about a minute. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the chocolate and cream are homogeneous. Slowly mix in the egg yolks and cornstarch until thoroughly incorporated. The mixture will be smooth and slightly thick.
In a separate bowl, add the honey to the egg whites and whip until soft peaks form.
Using a whisk, add about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture to lighten the mixture. Don’t worry about breaking the whites at this point, just whisk in the whites to make the batter more malleable. Then, gently fold in the remaining egg whites in two batches, and avoid over-mixing. White streaks of egg white should still be visible in the chocolate mixture.
Pour the batter into the greased springform pan. Top with the chopped apples and hazelnuts and dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar. Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet or sheet pan and bake immediately.
Cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to overcook or the cake will become flaky and dry.
Let the cake cool in the springform pan for at least 15 minutes before unmolding. The cake is best enjoyed while still warm. Enjoy!
Enjoy the read!
CookiePie
February 9, 2009 at 9:59 am (16 years ago)WOW – I love the idea of adding apples to a rich flourless chocolate cake — sounds divine! And the picture is gorgeous too.
tara
February 9, 2009 at 10:40 am (16 years ago)What an interesting combination of ingredients, I never would have thought to put them all together. This cake looks wonderful; the texture is luscious!
Dana Treat
February 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm (16 years ago)Wow, an interesting combination. It looks absolutely delicious.
Cherie
February 9, 2009 at 12:02 pm (16 years ago)What a great combination of flavours. I have a friend who’s a coeliac, this cake will be perfect for her birthday.
Patricia Scarpin
February 9, 2009 at 12:27 pm (16 years ago)I feel that all the time! You found a beautiful solution – what a delicious combo of flavors!
Deborah
February 9, 2009 at 1:25 pm (16 years ago)What a delicious combination of ingredients!
Kevin
February 9, 2009 at 1:44 pm (16 years ago)That cake looks so chocolaty and good!
Happy cook
February 9, 2009 at 2:06 pm (16 years ago)Wowo they just look so beautiful and so so delicious.
Erin
February 9, 2009 at 2:57 pm (16 years ago)This looks so good! I would have never thought to put that combination of ingredients together, but it sounds delicious!
May
February 9, 2009 at 3:30 pm (16 years ago)Sounds like a perfect and delicious gluten free cake. Must try.
Ingrid
February 9, 2009 at 3:40 pm (16 years ago)That’s a serious looking cake. Dense & rich.
Yes, I get that same feeling all the time as in almost everyday! 🙂
My children hate to eat the same thing more than once every 3 weeks. And they don’t like anything out of a box, can, or pre-frozen!!! You know all the stuff normal kids love?! They are HIGH maintenance!
~ingrid
Aubrey
February 9, 2009 at 3:49 pm (16 years ago)wow…looks amazing. i’m going to make it for my man for Valentines Day!! <3 Thanks for the idea!!
Rachel
February 9, 2009 at 4:21 pm (16 years ago)What wouldn’t I do for a piece of that right now?!
Mallory Elise
February 9, 2009 at 4:57 pm (16 years ago)mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm pretty photo 🙂
pigpigscorner
February 9, 2009 at 5:19 pm (16 years ago)oh so gorgeous!! Looks so chocolatey, moist and delicious!
Hayley
February 9, 2009 at 6:16 pm (16 years ago)Beautiful photo, and I can only imagine how rich and lovely this tastes. Thanks for sharing!
doggybloggy
February 9, 2009 at 7:40 pm (16 years ago)that looks so rich it gave me hives….
Audrey
February 9, 2009 at 8:12 pm (16 years ago)Were you (by any chance)reading my mind when you wrote tha first sentence? The answer is yes, and yes, and if I had known about this recipe before today it would have become one of the ones I’d come back to! Chocolate and apples are such an unusual combination – but one look at your pictures, and I’m ready to go for it!
Foodess
February 9, 2009 at 10:47 pm (16 years ago)YUM! Chocolate and apples?? I’m in!
lisa (dandysugar)
February 9, 2009 at 11:36 pm (16 years ago)Yum, a delicious decadent chocolaty treat! I love the apples in this cake. What a great combination of flavors.
Elyse
February 10, 2009 at 12:49 am (16 years ago)this cake looks delicious. what a unique and delicious combination! can’t wait to try it.
Aimée
February 10, 2009 at 7:38 am (16 years ago)Looks intense! Where do you buy your Valrhona??
Liliana
February 10, 2009 at 10:02 am (16 years ago)This cake looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make it.
Snooky doodle
February 10, 2009 at 2:20 pm (16 years ago)this looks amazingly tempting. I m drooling . yummy
Maria
February 10, 2009 at 7:04 pm (16 years ago)Lots of flavors in this cake. I love them all!
Arlette
February 11, 2009 at 12:04 am (16 years ago)very nice looking cake, the flavour definitely amazing.
your blog is very interesting and have plenty of amazing recipes.
thanks for sharing
MaryBeth
February 11, 2009 at 12:18 am (16 years ago)I would have never thought to add apples to the cake..it looks so thick and delish!
Cakebrain
February 11, 2009 at 1:59 am (16 years ago)ooooh! decadent! flourless is the way to go in my book!
Debbie
February 11, 2009 at 11:15 am (16 years ago)That looks absolutely delicious. Never heard of the combo of chocolate cake with apples but it sounds great to me!
CHIC Sensibility...
February 11, 2009 at 3:16 pm (16 years ago)This look great. What a combo. Thanks.
Stay chic!
Cakespy
February 11, 2009 at 5:42 pm (16 years ago)Well…hello, delicious. I’ll bet it’s so decadently, perfectly, chocolate-ly moist and delicious! I love the combination of textures and flavors here.
Peter M
February 12, 2009 at 12:40 pm (16 years ago)Oh my, this wedge is deep, dark chocolatey goodness. No need for seconds here.
bakingblonde
February 13, 2009 at 9:37 pm (16 years ago)What a great idea to add apples to something that rich and chocolaty! YUM
thecleanveggie
February 21, 2009 at 8:45 am (16 years ago)holy moly this sounds awesome!
gorgeous photograph
Shari@Whisk: a food blog
February 21, 2009 at 5:02 pm (16 years ago)This sounds like an interesting combo! Looks wonderful!
Lauren
February 22, 2009 at 4:56 pm (16 years ago)This cake looks so good. I will definitely make it with some tweaks (can’t have honey). The combo of apples and chocolate sounds divine!
Jennifer
February 23, 2009 at 12:51 pm (16 years ago)Such a unique, yet delicious combination of ingredients! So lovely!
jeff
February 28, 2009 at 4:02 pm (16 years ago)I made this last night, very tasty and well liked by my guests. It wasn’t as dense as I was expecting, and it also took about 50 min of baking time. It paired quite nicely with a little vanilla bean ice cream.
Chocolate Shavings
February 28, 2009 at 4:16 pm (16 years ago)jeff: I’m glad you liked it! And I agree, although it’s a pretty chocolate-heavy cake it isn’t too dense.
Maris
March 3, 2009 at 1:25 am (16 years ago)I love flourless chocolate cake and I can imagine that the combo of hazlenuts and apples balances out the rich flavors nicely.
And your photos are fabulous- I love your blog and I’ll definitely be stopping back!
Chanel11
April 30, 2009 at 3:02 am (16 years ago)I just made this and I too found that I had to cook it for longer – a great chocolate cake for those who prefer lighter cakes that aren’t heavy on the chocolate.
Lovely blog, I come here for inspiration often.
Nuntiya
July 30, 2009 at 1:35 am (15 years ago)Thanks for nice photos and beautiful blog.
I baked this last nite and it took 65 minutes. It tastes really great. I like it when it’s completely chilled out in the fridge. Althought it hardens a bit that way, but it’s still fork tender and melts in your mouth ! Terrific!.
I also love the apple bits. The pieces that cooked through inside the cake is soft and sweet. Yum.
Anonymous
October 22, 2010 at 12:31 am (14 years ago)hey! Can you explain the reason why you add the egg whites separately and make sure they have peaks with the honey? Is it for texture?
Chocolate Shavings
October 22, 2010 at 7:42 am (14 years ago)Anonymous: Yes, it’s to make sure they are airy to lighten up the mixture!
Erin
October 28, 2010 at 12:13 am (14 years ago)Woops! That was me. Appreciate the response. I have an awful lot of apple sauce in my fridge…I wonder if I can work that in here instead of the actual apples without making it goopy?
Chocolate Shavings
October 28, 2010 at 7:07 am (14 years ago)Erin: I would really try to use freshly chopped apples for this recipe. The apples are the finishing touch on touch of the cake, so they’re not really meant to mess with the actual texture of the cake!
Feyza S.
March 27, 2012 at 4:20 pm (13 years ago)When I first saw this recipe and the photos, they tempted me to try it. The result was worth trying and tasting this wonderful combination of chocolate and apples!
I have a Turkish blog and I’m going to post this recipe on my blog. Thank you very much 🙂