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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. Michelle Woods says:

    The best dessert I’ve ever tasted is a Baked Alaska, yumm!

  2. p.miller says:

    That looks yum and easy. Thanks for sharing! My fave I think will always be brownies! can’t live without them!

  3. Ashley Riggleman says:

    The best dessert I EVER ate has to be a home-made banana cream pie that I received for my birthday. I have never had it before and let me tell you…it was pure banana HEAVEN. It will definately be on my request list next year. I’m amazed at how it was made with so many layers and how none of the bananas turned brown or icky. Despite it not being in one piece all the time it was diverse in the fact it also kinda became banana soup! Haha. Beyond a doubt one of by best memories!!! :)

  4. Sara H. says:

    My favorite dessert is a lava cake I used to get at a restaurant back home in Hawaii

  5. Christine says:

    A perfect chocolate chip paired with a equally perfect creamy vanilla gelato will always be one of my favorite desserts. I tried the ny times cookies this past weekend and have now found my absolute perfect chocolate chip cookie. Thank you!

    Chrissy in San Diego

  6. Wendy says:

    It’s a toss up. My top 2 favorite desserts are from Avi’s Oven Art. His Creme Brulee or his Key Lime Pie. Both Amazing. I have never seen desserts in a jar before, but I intend to make this next trip to the grocery, and will hopefully be changing my mind very soon! This looks amazing!!!

  7. Angel V says:

    The best dessert I ever tasted was a coffee crunch cake from Yasukochi Sweet Shop in Japantown San Francisco. The cake has the perfect moist and crunch consistency. It melted in your mouth.

  8. Urban Wife says:

    What a tough question! Lately, the best dessert I’ve tasted was a table side dessert prepared just for us at a local Italian restaurant. The chef/owner used a few seasonal fruits, sauteed them in butter, splashed some liqueur on it and topped it all with a heavenly homemade ice cream. It was to.die.for.!

  9. Sarah C says:

    The most amazing treat that has ever crossed my lips would have to be a piece of hot Peach Pie with a crumble topping, served with a large scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream; the whole thing was then topped with a fresh, homemade Caramel drizzle.

  10. Jeanne in Toledo says:

    The best dessert I ever tasted was made from the first strawberries I ever picked, out in the sun with my grandmother, then took home and sliced – we served them over homemade vanilla ice cream that the guys had been cranking for what seemed like forever. I think I was 7. I can still taste it….
    BTW – I love that we can get the Weck jars (and Kilners too) at Williams-Sonoma now…so convenient!