Antoinette’s Chocolate Cake: A Rich French Café-Style Recipe

Rich yet remarkably light, this chocolate cake from Chez Antoinette in London combines dark chocolate, butter and whipped egg whites for a glossy, deeply indulgent dessert with classic French café appeal.

The secret to its texture lies in separating the eggs and folding firmly whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture, giving the finished cake a lighter crumb despite its generous quantities of chocolate and butter.

Made with just five main ingredients and a spoonful of gluten-free flour, it’s a wonderfully simple chocolate cake to recreate at home – finished with a dusting of icing sugar and fresh fruit for an effortlessly elegant dessert.

Antoinette’s chocolate cake

Ingredients

• 200g chocolate pistoles (small chocolate discs for baking)
• 200g unsalted butter
• 6 eggs, separated
• 200g sugar
• 1 heaped tbsp gluten-free flour
• Icing sugar, to serve
• Fresh fruit, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / 350°F / Gas 4.
2. In a saucepan, gently melt the butter and chocolate together over a low heat.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form.
5. In a small bowl, mix the gluten-free flour with a little water until smooth.
6. Add the melted chocolate and butter to the egg yolk and sugar mixture, then stir in the flour mixture.
7. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites until just combined, taking care not to knock out too much air.
8. Pour the mixture into a cake tin and bake for 35 minutes.
9. Leave to cool slightly, then sprinkle with icing sugar and decorate with fresh fruit before serving.

The story behind the recipe

The recipe comes courtesy of Aurélia and Jean-Baptiste Noël-Delclos, the husband-and-wife team behind Chez Antoinette, the much-loved French restaurant with locations in Covent Garden and Victoria, London.

Inspired by the warmth and nostalgia of French family cooking, Chez Antoinette specialises in the kind of comforting dishes and desserts you might expect to find in a traditional French café.

Serve this chocolate cake on its own, with fresh berries or, for an especially indulgent finish, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of Aurélia and Jean-Baptiste Noël-Delclos, Chez Antoinette.
Images: © Chez Antoinette / Matthew Hague

Lead photo credit : © Chez Antoinette / Matthew Hague