Back in January, I had dinner at a local brew pub. They comped us a dessert because they ran out of the one we'd ordered. The dessert they substituted was a fabulous flourless chocolate cake. It was dense, but rich with chocolate and the slightly chewy texture and hint of almond make me think it might have had ground almonds or almond flour as one of the ingredients. It was fabulous, so fabulous in fact, that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I've made a number of different flourless chocolate cakes, but none have turned out quite as well as that cake. I've been hard put not to just go back and see if they serve it again (it's not a menu item).

You might not be familiar with flourless chocolate cake; they've recently become very popular because they really are flourless, so people with allergies to gluten, and hence wheat flour, can enjoy them. The absence of flour, however, means not only that these are very dense and very chocolate cakes, but it also means that they have proportionately higher amounts of eggs and butter; a half pound at least of butter is standard. The bad news: they're not really all that healthy. The good news: you're not going to want a large serving. These are incredibly rich cakes, but all that butter means that they freeze beautifully after baking. Freeze the cake as soon as possible after it has cooled, double-wrapping the cake.

The key to making flourless chocolate cakes really wonderful is to follow a few simple principles:

• It's crucial that you use the best chocolate you possibly can; that means you want something that's around 60% or more cacao. Don't use chocolate chips, from anyone; they won't melt correctly and the texture will be odd as a consequence. Do think about using a very dark high cacao Ghiradelli or Scharfenberger, or similar high quality chocolate.




• If the recipe calls for alcohol, you can usually safely substitute another alcohol, but don't just omit it, or substitute another liquid. The proportions won't work right, and the cake will possibly be too moist (and shapeless) or too dry.




• Be sure that you don't over cook the cake; you want it to be moist and slightly chewy, not dry.




• You'll notice a fair number of recipes for flourless chocolate cake use coffee or a liquor (brandy and kalua are popular) as an additional flavoring. Again, don't indulge in false economy here.




• Many flourless cake recipes call for a spring form pan. Do make absolutely sure that the bottom is inserted correctly and firmly, so it doesn't pop out at an inconvenient moment, like when you are placing it in the oven. It's not a bad idea at all to cover the outside and bottom of a spring form pan with a protective layer of foil.




• If you are cooking for a someone with an allergy to gluten, don't even use flour to coat the cake pan; either grease the pan carefully, or use a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom.




• Some recipes call for a glaze; I generally prefer the cake without anything other than perhaps fresh berries, or a dab of whipped cream, or possibly fresh sorbet on the side, but your mileage may vary.




• These are such dense cakes, that people really won't want large portions at all, so do refrain from slicing thick slabs when you serve. You can always offer them a second piece.




• If the cake gets a little dry, or perhaps a bit overcooked, cut a fresh apple in half, and wrap it and the cake in plastic for a few hours. Remove the apple, and you'll find that the cake has absorbed some moisture from the apple. (Don't forget and leave the apple there, though, OK? Trust me.)

There's a recipe from Emeril Lagasse for flourless chocolate cake that uses Kahlua; ignore the ridiculous stock photo of a chocolate layer cake. The cake you'll make is about 1.5 inches in height, and not iced. You'll notice the Kahlua though; it's a nice touch. Feel free to substitute another liquor; Grand Marnier, or Cherry Herring, for instance, will also work. This has been my personal favorite; 24 ounces of chocolate, and brandy (I'm not a white chocolate fan; I skip the glaze). This cake is for the real chocoholic who doesn't like to cook with alcohol; it has 18 ounces of chocolate in it. This recipe uses cocoa as well as chocolate. Recipes calling for cocoa are often more convenient and honestly, a bit easier to make, but do get the highest quality cocoa you can; perhaps one of the special imports of Dutch cocoa, or one of Hershey's high cacao cocoas for baking. This one, from my very favorite cooking blog, is flavored with cayenne and chipotle, and quite lovely. This one calls for walnuts, and strong coffee. Here's a recipe for Torta di Cioccolato; it's very similar to the cake that started my current obsession with flourless chocolate cake, and uses ground toasted almonds. I've not make it—yet.