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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!
It’s so hard to choose favorites, especially when food is involved [and all I want is everything, all at once] — but the best dessert I’ve had recently was a blackberry & white chocolate bread pudding with whiskey caramel (from a new restaurant/bar in the Boston area) — and I don’t even like bread pudding!!
I love dessert so picking out a favorite is really tough! Creme Brulee is my favorite dessert to make. The best desserts I’ve ever tasted were amazing but, sadly, no longer available. I used to love the Paradise Pie Skillet dessert at Chile’s – this wonderful chocolate chip cookie/cake-like thing cooked in an adorable mini cast iron skillet and served hot, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, drizzled with a warm caramel and a warm cinnamon sauce. It was outstanding but the one they serve now is a big disappointment! My favorite dessert I ever tasted was: crepes made with Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, filled with white chocolate pastry cream, topped with fresh strawberries, an incredible Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur sauce and beautifully shaved white chocolate. It was heaven! It was at a special event and I’ve never again had anything even remotely similar. Hmmmm… maybe you can concoct something similar?? :-)
Thanks for the opportunity! The book sounds wonderful!
The best desserts I’ve ever tasted is anything with Pate Choux!!! :)
I am so excited to make these chocolate cakes tomorrow! So fun!
It’s so hard to say what dessert is the best I have ever tasted, but I always go back to the same one- a lemon curd filled tartlet topped with fresh berries. I love the buttery flakiness of the crust, with tangy curd and sweet berries. It marks the start of summer for me.
They definitely look elegant and very delicious! Just beautiful!
Best dessert ever – brownie sundae with mint ice cream from the chocolate room in Brooklyn, NY – amazing!
The best dessert I have ever had was a chocolate molten lava cake served at a fancy restaurant near DC – covered with delicious sauce and homemade ice cream – WOW! It changed my world. :-)
The best dessert I’ve ever tasted well it’s between Ina Garten’s outrageous brownies and the Fig-Anise ice cream I just made (a recipe by Deborah Madison) – delish!!
The best dessert I’ve had is a modern interpretation of carrot cake with a pineapple sorbet from 2941 Restaurant.
There is no doubt that the best dessert I have ever had is my mom’s berry crisp. It is just the perfect fall/winter dish. Sweet/tart/juicy/crunchy/cinnamon-y… it’s a hug in a bowl. And it makes a nutritious breakfast the next morning too. Because there is oatmeal in the topping; that counts right?