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Gâteau au Chocolat (Chocolate Cake)
Makes one 15 cm round cake (6 slices) · About 1 hr 30 min + 2 hr in the fridge
Melted chocolate and butter mixed with egg yolks and flour, then folded with whipped egg whites and baked in the oven.
① Get the pan and ingredients ready→② Melt the chocolate and butter over hot water→③ Mix in the yolks, cream and flour→④ Make the meringue→⑤ Fold in the meringue→⑥ Bake in the oven→⑦ Chill
What to buy
Baking supplies
Eggs & dairy
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How to make it
1
Get the pan and ingredients ready
- Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper
- Crack the eggs and separate the yolks and whites into different bowls. Put the bowl of whites in the fridge
- Mix 20 g cake flour and 20 g cocoa powder and sift through a strainer
- Break the chocolate bars into small pieces by hand and put in a bowl
- Start preheating the oven to 170°C
How to tell it's doneThe pan is lined, and the yolks and whites are separated. No yolk is mixed into the whites.
Be carefulEven a little yolk in the whites stops the meringue from whipping up.
2
Melt the chocolate and butter over hot water
- Add 50 g butter to the bowl of chocolate
- Fill a slightly bigger bowl halfway with boiling water, then add water until it feels hot when you dip a finger in (50–60°C)
- Set the bottom of the chocolate bowl in the hot water and stir slowly with a rubber spatula to melt
- When melted, take it out of the hot water
How to tell it's doneNo lumps of chocolate or butter. It is a smooth, shiny liquid.
Be carefulBe careful not to burn yourself with the hot water. Hold the bowls with a dry cloth.
Be carefulEven 1 drop of water in the chocolate makes it seize up and go grainy. Do not let the water come up to the rim of the bowl.
3
Mix in the yolks, cream and flour
- Add 2 egg yolks and 20 g sugar (out of the 50 g) to step 2 and mix with a whisk
- Add 50 ml heavy cream and mix
- Add the flour you sifted in step 1 and mix until you cannot see any flour
How to tell it's doneShiny dark brown, with no lumps of flour.
4
Make the meringue
- Beat the chilled egg whites with a hand mixer until white and foamy
- Add the remaining 30 g sugar in 3 parts, beating well each time
How to tell it's doneWhen you lift the mixer, the tip of the foam stands straight up (stiff peaks). It does not fall out even if you turn the bowl upside down.
Be carefulIf there is water or oil on the bowl or whisk, the whites will not whip up. Use dry tools.
5
Fold in the meringue
- Add one scoop of the meringue to step 3 and stir round and round with a whisk to blend
- Add the rest of the meringue in 2 parts, and fold lightly with a rubber spatula, scooping up from the bottom
- Pour into the pan. Drop the pan from about 5 cm high 2 times to knock out big bubbles
How to tell it's doneNo white streaks are left, and the batter is fluffy and light.
Be carefulIf you stir round and round too much, the bubbles pop and it will not rise. Stop as soon as the white streaks are gone.
6
Bake in the oven
- Put the pan in the preheated oven and bake at 170°C for 35–40 minutes
- If the top looks like it will burn, cover it with aluminum foil at 25 minutes
- Poke a bamboo skewer into the center to check
How to tell it's doneWhen you pull the skewer out, no runny batter comes with it (a few small moist crumbs are OK). Cracks on top are OK.
Be carefulIf runny batter sticks to it, bake 5 minutes more at a time. It has eggs, so bake it through to the center.
Be carefulThe inside of the oven and the tray are very hot. Always wear oven mitts to put things in and take them out, and keep your face away from the door.
7
Chill
- Leave it in the pan on a rack and cool at room temperature for 1 hour (it is normal for the center to sink a little)
- Take it out of the pan, peel off the paper, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours
- Warm a knife in hot water, wipe it, and cut into 6 slices
ReadyThe cut sides are moist and smooth. Eat within about 3 days, kept in the fridge.
Be carefulThe water for warming the knife is hot. Wipe with a dry cloth, and do not run your hand along the blade.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
If it didn't work out
It did not rise, and it is flat and hardThe meringue bubbles popped. Do not stir round and round too much in step 5. In step 4, beat until stiff peaks stand straight up.
The chocolate seized up and went grainyThe water bath was too hot, or water got in. Make the water hot to the touch of a finger (50–60°C), and do not let water get into the bowl.
The center is raw and runnyNot baked long enough. Check with a bamboo skewer and bake 5 minutes more at a time.
The center sank a lot after coolingSinking a little is normal. If it sinks a lot, the meringue was weak or it was underbaked.
The top burnedThe top of the oven is hotter. Cover with aluminum foil at 25 minutes.
It does not come out of the pan cleanlyBatter got into gaps in the parchment paper. Line the sides with paper that sticks up 1 cm above the pan.
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