Peppermint Flourless Chocolate Cake with Marshmallow Meringue

December is here! And that means it’s time for holiday recipes. I have five festive recipes headed your way this month that are perfect for baking over holiday break, or for any festive get together.

In other news, today was a snow day! I’m very much appreciating the extra day off to catch up on some things, including this post. This was technically meant to have been posted a couple days ago but I ran out of time. But in a way, it’s a good thing because posting my first holiday recipe on the first snow day of the season just feels right.

This is a very chaotic week what with tests and final projects at school, performances all weekend, editing posts for this month, and testing the final recipe for December. But that’s usually the way this time of year goes, so I’m just counting down the days until winter break. But until them, let’s talk chocolate cake.

Describe this Cake to Me

Taste: This cake has the perfect blend of rich bittersweet chocolate, bright peppermint, and sweet marshmallow. The deep chocolate of the cake balances perfectly with the meringue, making this cake not overly sweet.
Texture: The cake itself has an almost fudge like texture, which balances perfectly with the light and fluffy meringue on top. This is a very rich cake, but so delicious.
Ease: Making the flourless chocolate cake is very simple and the batter comes together in one bowl with no mixer. Making the meringue can be a little tricky, but once you do it’s a very simple assembly, with no piping or layering.

The Cake

This is a flourless chocolate cake, which means it comes together with very few ingredients. All you do is melt together some butter and chocolate, mix in sugar and peppermint extract, followed by the eggs which give this cake most of its structure, and finish it off with some cocoa powder. This cake is incredibly rich and dense, which means that usually the slices are on the smaller side. This cake has the perfect amount of peppermint so that it’s present but doesn’t taste like toothpaste.

The Meringue

The marshmallow topping on this cake is a very classic meringue. It comes together by slowly cooking egg whites and sugar in a double broiler before whipping to stiff peaks. It’s a very simple process, but it does take some time and patience. The light fluffy texture of this meringue, paired with the sweet vanilla flavor balances perfectly with the rich and fudgy cake.

Peppermint Flourless Chocolate Cake with Meringue

This festive flourless chocolate is rich, fudgy, and delicious! Dark chocolate and peppermint are the core flavors of the cake, and the light and fluffy vanilla meringue on top adds the perfect balance of flavors and textures. This cake is simple to make, but a very impressive and cozy holiday centerpiece.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Flourless Chocolate Cake

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 6 Tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chopped
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Meringue Topping

• 6 large egg whites
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• a pinch of salt

Method

 

Make the flourless chocolate cake

1. Add the butter and chocolate to a large microwave safe mixing bowl. Cook in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until both the chocolate and butter are fully melted and smooth. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.
2. Grease and line an 8 inch cake pan with butter and a parchment paper round. Then, grease the parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
3. To the butter and chocolate mixture, whisk in the granulated sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. The mixture may look split at first but by the time you whisk in the 4th egg it should be smooth. Finally, whisk in the cocoa powder and salt. The batter will be thick, tacky, and glossy. Pour/spread the batter into the previously prepared cake pan.
4. Place a large metal baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven and fill roughly 2 inches up with boiling water. Place the cake on the center rack and bake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean. The water bath on the bottom of the oven ensures a moist and fudgy cake.
5. Let the cake cool completely in the pan set on a wire cooling rack.

Make the meringue

1. Fill the bottom half of a double broiler with roughly 2 inches of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. In the top half of the double broiler, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Place over the simmering water and cook, whisking frequently until the sugar has dissolved into the egg whites. You can tell it's dissolved by rubbing a little bit of the mixture between your fingers, and you shouldn't be able to feel any sugar granules. Pour the mixer into the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg white mixer on high speed until it reaches stiff peaks. The mixture should have a glossy, marshmallowy texture.
3. Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with a generous amount of the meringue (you will have more than you need). If desired, toast the meringue with a kitchen torch and crushed candy canes.
4. Cake stays fresh without the meringue topping sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Meringue lasts up to three days sealed in the refrigerator .