Dense, tender, and sophisticated, this gluten-free almond flour chocolate cake gets a flavor kick from fruity olive oil. Deck slices out with whipped cream and seasonal fruit, or enjoy plain with a cup of coffee. Naturally dairy-free, with gluten-free and paleo options. Updated October 26th 2020.
This favorite recipe from TBG archives deserved an update, so I've added new images and detail to the post. You need look no further for a perfectly rich and decadent almond flour chocolate cake recipe. This beauty hails from Alice Medrich's cookbook Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. Medrich has a well-deserved reputation for being an awesome baker with solid recipes who isn't afraid to try new techniques. She is a culinary pioneer from whom I find continual inspiration.
Similar in texture to a flourless chocolate cake but with a bit of nubby texture from almond flour, this almond flour chocolate cake will satisfy the most voracious of chocoholics.
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
The ingredient that sets this almond flour chocolate cake apart from others is the good pour of olive oil that stands in where butter would usually be. It's no secret that I'm a fan of olive oil desserts of all ilks and also a fan of gluten-free chocolate cake. Here the fruity notes from the olive oil complement rich chocolate and nutty almonds. The olive oil also makes the cake naturally dairy-free (more on this below), though you could swap in any oil you like. Use a neutral oil like grapeseed or sunflower, or a flavorful nut oil such as hazelnut or walnut.
Paleo Chocolate Cake Option
The original recipe for this almond flour chocolate cake contained a small amount of wheat flour. This is easily replaced with sweet rice flour (or probably really any flour you like!) One reader recently commented that she made the cake paleo-friendly by using grain-free cassava flour, and coconut sugar in place of regular. Brilliant!
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
- Chocolate is the star of this show, so be sure to use one that you like the taste of. Guittard bittersweet is my go-to; Valrhona is another well-loved brand. For a paleo-friendly version, choose a chocolate free of refined sugar such as Hu, Raaka, or Guittard.
- Eggs create fluffy texture similar to a flourless chocolate cake, and they give the cake structure. I wouldn't recommend trying to substitute them. But if you're looking for a GF vegan chocolate cake recipe, try this one!
- Almond flour or almond meal give the cake substance. You can make your own almond flour by grinding whole, slivered, or sliced almonds with the flour until fine and powdery. You can also use hazelnut flour, or any other nut. You could also try using ground seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds for a nut-free option.
- Olive oil stands in for the usual melted butter. Choose a bold, fruity olive oil that you love the flavor of. Or use any other cooking oil you prefer. A nut oil such as hazelnut or walnut would be lovely too.
- A small amount of flour absorbs moisture. Pretty much any flour will do. I used sweet rice to make this, but any all-purpose blend should work. For paleo-friendly, use cassava flour.
- Salt and vanilla sharpen the flavors. Cocoa powder makes an optional topping.
- I adore cakes like these with a dollop of softly whipped cream. For a dairy-free version, try a rich coconut yogurt such as Coyo, or make your own whipped coconut cream or cashew whipped cream.
- Serve this cake as-is, or garnish with some seasonal fruit: berries, pomegranate, poached pears, fresh figs – all play well with chocolate and almonds!
How to make almond flour chocolate cake: step-by-step instructions
Chocolate Cake vs. Chocolate Torte
The terms torte and cake can both be used to describe this dessert. In the US, we use the word "cake" to describe both light, fluffy confections like angel food and chiffon, and short, dense numbers like this chocolate almond cake. The word "torte" hails from Europe where it's used more often to describe a rich cake made with a high ratio of eggs, and sometimes ground nuts.
So call this what you like – chocolate almond torte or almond flour chocolate cake. You'll definitely call it delicious.
Gluten- and Dairy-Free Cake (that isn't Vegan)
The first job I had in San Francisco was at a gluten-free wholesale bakery where work days consisted of mixing, baking, and packaging hundreds of really good fudgy brownies. My favorite task was cutting up "brownie favors," irregular pieces that got weighed into bakery bags. It was way too easy to continually stuff my face full of brownies pop a scrap in my mouth every so often, which I could rationalize because the brownies contained brown rice flour, palm oil, ground flax and organic eggs. (And besides, as we say in the baking biz, "Broken cookies have no calories.")
One day we got an angry letter from a vegan claiming to have been bamboozled into eating eggs by our misleading label, which proclaimed the bars "gluten- and dairy-free." But since dairy is defined as "food made from or containing milk," eggs are not technically dairy. (I checked)
This did not endear me to vegans.
So lest there be any confusion, this cake contains no dairy, but it does get its luscious texture from whipped egg whites.
This cake turns out moist, tender and rich, but not so densely truffle-like as some cakes of its ilk. The ground almonds add body, and its judicious sweetness is balanced by deep chocolate and fragrant olive oil. It appreciates a tot of good whiskey or a cup of coffee.
Since I have several lactose-intolerant friends, I'm quite happy to have this cake in my arsenal for continually stuffing my face the occasional dinner party. (Thanks, Alice Medrich!) Serve it up to guests, or make if for your sweetie for the upcoming holiday. You won't get complaints from any non-vegans.
But if you're looking for a gluten-free vegan chocolate cake, try this one!
More Olive Oil Desserts
- Tangerine Olive Oil Pound Cake
- Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars with Apricots, Prunes and Almonds
- Chocolate Rosemary Pots de Crème with olive oil and sea salt
- Tarragon Olive Oil Ice Cream
- Gluten-Free Olive Oil Cake with Lemon and Almond
More Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Healthy Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake
- GF Vegan Chocolate Tart
- Gluten-Free Brownies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
MORE FAVORITE ALMOND FLOUR RECIPES:
- Gluten-Free Almond Flour Tart Crust
- Fluffy GF Almond Flour Pancakes
- Gluten-Free Meyer Lemon Almond Cake
- Gluten-Free Olive Oil Cake with Almonds
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free chocolate olive oil cake recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Gluten-Free Chocolate Almond Olive Oil Cake
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 cup (60 g) almond flour or meal (or whole almonds ground with the rice flour until powder-fine)
- 2 tablespoons (20 g) sweet rice flour or GF AP flour (use cassava flour for a paleo option)
- 6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet chocolate with 65-72% cacao mass, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) flavorful olive oil, plus extra for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar, divided use (use coconut or maple sugar for paleo version)
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- For serving (optional): cocoa powder, unsweetened whipped cream / coconut cream / yogurt, seasonal fruit, olive oil
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Rub an 8- or 9-inch round springform pan with a bit of olive oil.
- Place the chocolate, oil and salt in a large, metal bowl. Place the bowl in a skillet filled with 2 inches of barely simmering water, and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted.
- Remove the bowl from the skillet and whisk in 1/2 cup of the sugar, the almond flour, and the sweet rice flour. Whisk in the egg yolks. If the mixture gets cold, it may start to "seize" or look grainy. In this case, place the bowl back into the warm water and stir until it loosens up again.
- Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until foamy, then gradually pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, whipping the whites until they hold soft peaks (i.e., when you pull the whisk out and hold it upside down, the peaks of white flop over).
- Without delay, use a rubber spatula to stir 1/3 of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites until the batter is just combined and no streaks remain.
- Immediately scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, 30-40 minutes. Let the cake cool completely, then remove the sides of the pan. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving if you wish, then use a large chef's knife wiped clean after each cut to slice the cake.
- If you like, serve the cake with a dollop of cream, a drizzle of olive oil, a few flecks of flakey salt, and/or seasonal fruit or berries. The cake will keep, covered and at room temperature, for up to three days, or refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
Notes
Nutrition
theroadtoserendipity says
Sorry you got hit by "one of THOSE" vegans :(. They certainly give us a bad name. I can't stand them either...the food elitist bike riding greener than green (when it suits them...) "vegans" who are only in it so that they can stand head and shoulders above everyone else and look down from their lofty tower in scorn at ANYONE who deviates from their superior pathway in any way at all. As a vegan I appologise for this obviously moronic vegan's complaint...didn't know that eggs weren't dairy? MORON! ;). This cake is amazing. My husband is omni and will be enjoying every single slice with double cream. I will attempt to veganise this most promising recipe so that I can join him in "OOO...AAHHH!" ing, but if I can't...so be it. Some things are meant to be made a certain way and you can't have everything :). Cheers for this wonderful blog and for sharing your spectacular recipes so freely with us all (even the ungrateful vegans that slither amongst us ;) )
Alanna says
Please let me know if you make a vegan version of this cake! I will be so impressed. Sorry that there are obnoxious vegans out there who give you all a bad name! Thanks for all the kind words - you're the sweetest. :)
Julia says
Hands down this is the most delicious recipe I've taken a gander at all day! I love baking with almond flour and rice flour (I have about 2 pounds of each in my pantry right now) and chocolate is my ultimate weakness! I've only tried olive oil cake twice but both times I was in heavenly bliss. Love the recipe, definitely going to bake it!
Alanna says
Aw, thanks! I love all those ingredients, too and hence, the cake that they became! Please let us know how it comes out.
Yammie @ Yammie's Noshery says
I just found your blog! What a treasure!!! Your recipes look delicious and your photography is gorgeous!
Alanna says
Thanks! I'm a fan of your blogs, too, Yammie! :)
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen says
Sometimes gf looks so good! I can´t wait to make this recipe, I bet it tastes amazing. Perfect with my coffee. Glad I found your blog!
Alanna says
I'm glad I found yours, too, Paula! And yes, the cake is indeed good with coffee.
Anonymous says
This looks scrumptious! I hope I'm not too late to ask this ... When you're melting the chocolate, do you plop the metal bowl down into the hot water in the skillet? Most recipes tell you to keep the bowl *above* the simmering water, definitely not touching it, so I am wondering about this. Thanks! -mk
Alanna says
Thanks for the great question! The bowl in, not over, the skillet of water is an Alice Medrich innovation, and it has several advantages. You can see whether the water is simmering or just hot, since it's not hidden under the bowl, and you don't risk getting a steam burn when you lift the bowl off the pot, since there's no steamy water trapped underneath it. As long as the water isn't boiling, you won't risk harming the chocolate. That being said, you can of course use your preferred method for melting the chocolate and butter. Please come back and let me know how the cake turns out! Happy baking. :)
Makos(@thehungrybites) says
Hey Alanna,
I realise this is an old post, but I just wanted to say I'm in love with all your recipes! :-)
Alanna says
Aw, thanks for the sweet note!
Shari Silverman says
I made this for my sister's birthday. We all loved it! Thank you!
Alanna says
Aw, so glad it was a hit!
Radhika says
Hi Alanna,
Needless to say I love all you recipes. One question though, is there a replacement for cream of tartar in this recipe?
Radhika
Alanna says
Aw thank you for saying so! So the cream of tartar here works as an acid that helps stabilize the egg white mixture. You could probably just leave it out! Let me know if you try. :)
Meera says
This looks divine. Could regular white rice flour or even brown rice flour be used in lieu of the sweet rice flour?
Alanna says
That would probably work! Please let me know if you try it. :)
nuriya says
The recipe looks gorgeous! I've not made it yet so I hope it's alright to post. I need to make this cake for a child who does not eat eggs. Have you any suggestions for a good egg replacement?
Alanna says
Hi Nuriya! Hm this is a tricky one to substitute, but I would try using aquafaba in place of the egg whites. You can whip those up with sugar. I've never tried this myself so maybe experiment with a half batch? I'm not sure what to use for the egg yolks... maybe more oil? Or something like pumpkin puree, apple sauce, or mashed banana? Please let me know what you play with!
Chantal+Salpetrier says
Great chocolate cake yummy thank you for recipe
joanne says
Is there anything I can substitute for cream of tartar? I have everything but that..
Thanks!
joanne says
Oops I see you answered this in the previous comments, but I have another question.
I have some olive oil from a while ago, so I'm not sure if it's still good, but I do have some new avocado oil.. would that work instead?
Alanna says
Hi Joanne, I would taste the olive oil and if it's off or tastes rancid, definitely get rid of it! Avocado oil should work fine here. It has a slightly assertive flavor but the chocolate is so strong, I don't think it will be noticeable. Please let me know if you try it!
Tamar Besson says
Each recipe of yours that I make turns out to be my new favorite. This one is no exception. I was inspired to make this recipe to celebrate Valentine's Day with my bestie. When we were already up to our elbows in chocolate, I realized that we were at high altitude. It wasn't quite sure what to do since you always have to make adjustments for baking in this environment. But since the batter was so tasty, I figured however it would turn out, it would be yummy. Needless to say, we made no adjustments and it turned out both beautiful and delicious, with no high altitude adjustments necessary. Thanks again for helping me celebrate my most treasured friendship in the most perfect way... With chocolate!
Stella Rosen says
This came out great! Made it with coconut whip cream and cut strawberries. Next time I might add a little cocoa powder to up the chocolatiness of this dessert.
Alanna says
I'm so glad you liked it! You can never have too much chocolate in my opinion. Let me know how it is with the cocoa if you try!
Satpreet says
This cake is so good! I just got done making it for the second time, and it was such a joy to make it - and as I wait (im)patiently for it to cool, I can tell it's gonna be even better than last time.
One question I had is that, both times I made it, as the cake cools, the top seems to sink in a little bit, leaving it a little wrinkly and just a tiny little bit concave.
Do you know why this might be happening?
Thank you for another great one!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you're loving this recipe! That's interesting about the cake sinking a little on top. Which ingredients are you using? I ask because I gave some different options and I'm curious if that's affecting the recipe. Let me know! Happy to help troubleshoot. :)
Sarah Milone says
This recipe made one amazing dessert. Where I come from we call it a cake-like brownie.
Alanna says
That is a beautiful and accurate description. I'm so glad you liked it!
Elaine says
This sounds delicious. Has anyone tried making it in a cupcake/muffin pan? I like to make desserts in single portions and freeze. Do I bake at the same temp, but reduce the cooking time?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I think that would work perfectly! I would keep the same oven temp the same and shorten the baking time as needed. Please let me know if you try it!
Linda Furness says
Hi, I tried to make this today, and it was a complete fail. After I added the eggs (warmed for 5 minutes in warm water before separating), it seized, so as you suggested, I put it back over the hot water, on low heat, and it went from grainy to completely separated, into oil and sludgy batter, which would not rejoin. Yuck. What did I do wrong? Was there any way to fix that once I got there? I had to throw it away and make a different cake. Very sad, and has never happened to me before in 30 years of baking…???
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Linda,
I'm so sorry to hear this! I know how frustrating it is to try a recipe with expensive ingredients and have it not turn out. BOO. It sounds like you did everything just right, so I'm mystified as well.
I've made this recipe several times and sometimes it seizes and sometimes it doesn't. I haven't figured out why that is yet! One time I tried adding water a tablespoon at a time to get the mixture back into emulsion, but when I baked it, it was more mousse than cake. It was edible but I didn't feel that that was a good solution so I didn't share it here. The cake in these photos actually seized a little, but I went ahead with the recipe and it turned out ok.
Curious what kind of chocolate (brand and percentage) you used? I'm thinking that closer to 65% might make the batter more durable and less likely to seize. Also which ingredients did you use (since I gave options for dietary preferences)?
Thanks for your note and for helping me make this recipe more solid for other readers!