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If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember me posting a piece of flourless chocolate cake while dining at The Capital Grille. After one bite, I was smitten with the rich, dense espresso infused chocolate cake.

When Shaina’s debut cookbook, Desserts in Jars arrived on my doorstep, I immediately honed in on page 35 – Flourless Chocolate Cakes, beautifully photographed in my favorite Weck jars. Shaina described her Flourless Chocolate Cakes as little brownies with crunchy tops and that’s exactly what they taste like. Pure chocolate perfection in an adorable glass jar.

[pinit] In you visit MBA on a regular basis, you know how much I love baking and presenting desserts in jars, so naturally, I was incredibly excited about Shaina’s cookbook. Desserts in Jars contains 50 gorgeous recipes including cakes, pies, puddings, frozen desserts and even a variety of mixes that are perfect for giving.


Shaina expertly walks you through the process of choosing, filling, baking and even adorning your jars with printable tags, so they’re ready for a casual backyard barbecue or a fancy holiday party. And after hanging out with Shaina in NYC, I must say, Desserts in Jars is an accurate representation of the awesomeness that is Shaina.

Flourless Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients:

Oil for greasing the jars
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons (½ stick)unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
fresh raspberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease fourteen 8-ounce jars. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

2. In a stand mixer, beat together the granulated sugar and egg yolks until thick and creamy. Mix ¼ cup of the melted chocolate and butter into the egg yolks. Continuing to mix, slowly pour the remaining melted chocolate mixture into the egg yolks until all is incorporated. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

3. Spoon 4 to 5 tablespoons of the cake batter into each greased jar. Place the jars 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops of the cakes start to crack. Remove from the oven and let the jars cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, garnish with fresh raspberries.

Notes:

- This recipe works well when cut in half.
- Jars seen in the photos are Weck Mini Mold Jars #976-165

Source: Desserts in Jars by Shaina Olmanson

All images and text ©

Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!

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474 Comments

  1. Tina says:

    I love the apple dumplings at Cracker Barrel. I eat the dumpling and my son eats the ice cream.

  2. Missy Bodily says:

    The best dessert I had was from an old pie store. The crust was flaky and tasted so good, next was a layer of firm chocolate, not like a Hershey bar because the flavor was different and I would compare it to a truffle textures that melted in your mouth as it married with the other ingredients. Next came the banana cream that had fresh banana’s topped with Real Whip Cream that I loved the feel of on my lips, it was not greasy or did it melt too quickly, but stayed just long enough that you could savor the flavor. As the banana mixed with the chocolate it was pure bliss then the flaky crust had me begging to dive in for another mouth full. The height of the pie was just a treat itself, it sat beautifully on a chocolate drizzled white chilled plate approximately 5 inches tall. As much as I loved this chocolate banana cream pie, I was never strong enough to eat it all by myself. The placed closed around 1996 and NEVER opened again. But I have never, ever forgot how yummy that pie was or what it looked like.

  3. AntoniaJames says:

    Best dessert ever? Oh, that is hard!! But then, it’s easy: my mother’s sour cream cake. If I had a slice right now, I’d spoon some blueberries sauce with grappa over it. ;o)

  4. leslie says:

    Home made vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day.

  5. Elizabeth says:

    wow! this is so hard! the best dessert I have ever tasted was a tres leche cupcake with dulce de leche buttercream. Yum.

  6. Kay Childs says:

    The best dessert I have had is flourless chocolate cake made by my neighbor for our book club group. The cookbook sounds great.

  7. miki says:

    I’m fond of a french dessert called cremet d’anjou. It tastes like the lightest most delicious cheesecake ever.

  8. Lauren Z. says:

    I would say it’s gotta be the Creme Brulee from The Augustine Grill in Castle Rock, CO. One of the best anniversary dinners that we’ve had. The brulee was thick, creamy, custardy, and soooooo vanilla-y! I have very high standards now. LOL. :)

  9. Tatum says:

    Homemade Snickers with almonds

  10. Laurel Wycoff says:

    I am a choco-holic, love peanut butter cups; but my favorite dessert is Key Lime pie. The best I’ve had was at a Hops restaurant in Miami, FL.