This rich and fudgy chocolate hazelnut cake is made in under 1 hour! Naturally gluten free, this recipe uses hazelnut flour (or ground hazelnuts), eggs, sugar, chocolate, and butter. This easy cake bakes up in a 9-inch springform pan, and is incredible served with whipped mascarpone and seasonal fruit.

If you're a fan of European torte-style cakes such as this almond flour chocolate torte, you're going to love this rich and fudgy chocolate hazelnut cake.
I originally developed this recipe for my Alternative Baking column in GFF: Gluten-Free Forever Magazine in support of my cookbook that's all about baking with gluten-free flours.
This naturally gluten-free chocolate cake has the feel and appearance of a flourless chocolate cake, only with a bit more heft and depth from hazelnut flour or ground hazelnuts. It's made with 7 ingredients, 20 minutes active time, and a 40 minute bake. It's easy enough to whip up on a weeknight, and elegant enough to serve for a special occasion. It makes an ideal Passover dessert since it's free of grains and leavening too!
Here's what one happy reader had to say about it:
5-Star Reader Review
“This was so easy, well instructed and unbelievably more-ish. Wow.”
—Katherine
I like topping slices with whipped mascarpone and seasonal fruit – pomegranates or poached pears in the cooler months, raspberries or fresh figs in spring and summer. Or for extra chocolate goodness, swirl it with dairy-free chocolate ganache flavored with a splash of hazelnut liqueur if you like. (Yum!)
This tender cake is similar to a sliceable fallen chocolate soufflé when served warm. At room temperature, it has a rich, fudgy crumb. The cake is best the day it’s baked, but leftovers keep well, refrigerated airtight, for 3 days. For best results, bring to room temperature or warm in the oven before serving.
Ingredients
This chocolate hazelnut torte is made with just 7 ingredients.
- Bittersweet chocolate forms the base of this cake, so be sure to use one you like the flavor of. I tested this recipe using chocolate with 60-65% cacao mass, so that percentage range will work best here. My go-to brands are Guittard and Tcho, but any good-quality baking chocolate will work.
- Hazelnut meal (or ground hazelnuts) add their warm flavor to this cake. You can use almond meal instead, or try other ground nuts such as pecans or walnuts. (I'm also curious to try this cake with ground sesame seeds for a halva vibe – yum!)
- Eggs give the cake structure and lift. I don't recommend replacing these as they are essential to the cake's structure. For an eggless chocolate cake, make the egg-free version of this teff flour chocolate cake.
- Butter adds richness. Use vegan butter for dairy-free, or try my almond flour olive oil cake instead.
- Sugar adds sweetness. You can sub coconut sugar by weight for the portion that's whisked into the batter, but it's best to stick with granulated sugar for whipping the egg whites.
- Salt & vanilla sharpen the flavors.
Method
This recipe makes one 9-inch single-layer cake, or about 10 servings. It takes 20 minutes of active time to make the batter and 40 minutes to bake. Be sure to leave time to let the cake cool to warm or room temperature before serving it.
This cake can be made a day or two ahead if you like, and it can also be frozen successfully.
Note that these process photos are from making this almond flour chocolate torte, but the two recipes look nearly identical in their steps. I've shared these photos here to help with the process.
How to serve your flawless chocolate hazelnut cake
Some favorite topping suggestions, from my kitchen to yours!
- Dust the cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar put through a fine mesh sieve
- Dollop slices with mascarpone whipped cream, or go with coconut whipped cream for dairy-free
- Top with seasonal fruit: pomegranate, raspberries, fresh figs, and poached pears are all delicious
However you serve this gluten-free chocolate hazelnut cake, I hope you love it as much as I do!
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this flourless chocolate hazelnut cake, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

Rich & Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Cake
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature, yolks and whites separated
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks, 170 g) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
- 10 ounces (283 g) semisweet chocolate (ideally 60 to 65% cacao), roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
- ¾ cup (150 g) organic granulated sugar, divided use
- 1 cup (112 g) hazelnut flour (or ground hazelnuts)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Serving Suggestions
- whipped mascarpone
- coconut milk chocolate ganache
- seasonal fruit
- cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
Prepare Things
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
- Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
- Bring your eggs to room temperature so they will be easy to fold into the cake batter. To do this quickly, place them in a bowl and cover with warm (not hot) water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, then remove and dry.
Make the Batter
- In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, combine the butter and chocolate. Stir occasionally until the mixture is nearly melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the sugar, the hazelnut flour, and the salt to eliminate lumps. Whisk the hazelnut flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, then add the vanilla and finally the egg yolks.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and continue whipping until the whites just hold soft peaks (when you pull the whip out and turn it upside down, the egg whites should form a peak that flops over). Don’t overwhip or the whites will be difficult to incorporate into the batter and will make a denser cake.
- Stir one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until just combined, then gently fold in the remaining two-thirds until no streaks remain.
Bake
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake until puffed and cracked and the center is firm, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature or slightly warmer.
Serve
- When the cake is cool, release the sides of the pan, slide the cake onto a cutting board, and slice into wedges using a sharp chef’s knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean between each cut.
- Serve with toppings of your choice.
Notes
- In place of hazelnut flour (aka hazelnut meal), feel free to use almond flour, almond meal, ground hazelnuts (toasted or not), or other ground nuts such as pecans or walnuts.
- To make the cake dairy-free, use vegan butter and omit the salt if the butter is salty.
- It's fine to use coconut sugar for the cake batter, but it's best to use granulated sugar for whipping the whites.
- The cake can be baked 1-2 days before serving. Store covered at cool room temperature or in the fridge (but bring to room temp before serving)
- The cake can be covered and frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost before serving.
- Leftovers keep beautifully for up to 5 days in the fridge, or frozen for up to 1 month.
Kel says
I adore your recipes! They are wonderfully explained. Please, please make a GF, DF layered chocolate cake recipe with raspberry jam. I really would like to see your take on it. It would be a plus if it has chocolate ganache and frosting. Thanks!!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw thank you Kel! So glad you're enjoying the recipes :)
I love this idea. I've added it to my list of recipes to develop, thank you for the suggestion!
In the meantime if you want to give it a go, you could make 2-3 layers of this coconut flour chocolate cake or the dairy-free version of this teff flour chocolate cake. Spread raspberry jam between the layers (do you envision something creamy in there too? Maybe whipped coconut cream with some cocoa powder whipped in?) and top with dairy-free chocolate ganache.
Do let me know if you experiment!
xo,
A
Andrea Eisenberg says
Wow. This was certainly a rich, deep, fudgy chocolate cake. Made it for my stepdaughter's birthday and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought about adding a little espresso to it - next time!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, I'm so glad the cake was a hit - what a lucky stepdaughter! Love the idea of adding espresso here - please let me know if you try it that way. Yum!
Katherine says
This was so easy, well instructed and unbelievably more-ish. Wow.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!