It was my friends birthday this week and I wanted to make her a cake. Birthdays during quarantine are sad, and I wanted to cheer her up. Being gluten intolerant, I felt like I had a challenge on my hands. I am a self described carboholic and gluten lover. Making a cake without flour seemed impossible and like it would just turn out wrong.
I found a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake from one of my favorite baking blogs, Sally’s Baking Addiction. I made the cake for her exactly the way its shown, with an espresso whipped cream. The cake was surprisingly SO easy to make. I always assumed making something GF would be really hard. Everything besides the frosting is whipped together in one bowl.
A few days later I decided I wanted to remake it in a different way. Instead of a cake I imagined chocolate cupcakes, just because the cake is naturally more like a mix between cake and a brownie. Because the cake is dense, I felt like it needed a light and slightly fruity frosting. I added cream cheese to the frosting so that it would stiffen up a bit to pipe, but still be light and fluffy. Raspberry syrup is added to the frosting for flavoring and color. The pretty blush color it produced in contrast to the red raspberry on top I loved. However, I think it would also look lovely with some food coloring to darken the pink color as well.
The key to keeping the cupcakes so moist is to make a steamy oven. I placed a baking dish full of water on the bottom rack of the oven when it was preheating and baked the cupcakes on the middle rack. (Do not use stonewear, I leaned this the hard way! #cry). The cupcakes turned out so fudgey and delicious with a light and fruity frosting that felt perfect as a spring dessert!
Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients
FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 4 tablespoons butter, cubed
- 6 ounces bakers German chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa
- ¼ teaspoon salt
RASPBERRY SYRUP (for frosting)
- 1 pint raspberries, plus more for decorating
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup filtered water
RASPBERRY WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2¾ cups heavy cream, cold
- 5 teaspoons raspberry syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CAKE
- 1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Place a baking dish filled with water on the bottom tray of the oven to create a steamy oven. Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. 1. In a large microwave safe bowl add the butter and chopped chocolate. Melt in 30 second intervals until melted. 2. In the same bowl, add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and whisk together. It will be thick like brownie batter. 3. Add in the eggs, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk until smooth. 4. Fill the cupcake tray with the cake mixture, around ⅔ full. 5. Bake the cupcakes at 350° for 27-28 minutes. You should be able to pull a toothpick out of the center clean. It is important to not over bake them if you want a fudgey cupcake. 6. Let them cool COMPLETELY. The frosting will melt if you put it on while they are still warm. I recommend placing them in the fridge at least a half hour before piping the frosting.
RASPBERRY SYRUP
- 1. Add the pint of raspberries, sugar and filtered water to a medium sauce pan. Heat on medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the raspberries become soft. 2. Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Pour the berries in the sieve. With the back of a spatula press the juice into the bowl. Set aside, you will be using this for the frosting.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING
- 1. To the bowl of a stand up mixer with the paddle attachment attached, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat on medium until smooth, around 2 minutes. 2. With the mixer on low, slowly add the cream. Add the raspberry and vanilla. Slowly increase the speed up to medium high and beat until the frosting creates stiff peaks. You will want the frosting to be pretty sturdy so it pipes well.
DECORATING
- 1. With a piping bag, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Place a raspberry on top.