Chocolate Espresso Heaven by the Slice

1 12 oz bag Sunspire unsweetened dark chocolate chips (or your favorite dark chocolate bar)*
1/4 c. hot fresh espresso **
~1 T. fresh espresso grinds (optional, but man its good)
1 T. organic vanilla***
1 T. cinnamon
4 heaping T of unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/4 c. (powdered) Stevia
1 T. organic brown sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice
6 free range organic eggs, room temperature
2 sticks Earth Balance Vegan light butter, room temperature (I know that’s a lot, but it makes the consistency for a flourless cake. See the bottom for a butterless variation.My first remark is that I used the Vita-Mix for the whole grinding and mixing process. You can use a food processor or your blender if you prefer. The Vitamix made the preparation very fast and fun. I love to watch it go!Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat either two cake pans or preferably a large springform pan with nonstick spray. First, add the Stevia, brown sugar, cinnamon, espresso grinds, and chocolate chips to the Vitamix. I did this as I made my second double shot of espresso so I just so happened to have extra grinds to add. Grind the chips and dry ingredients up for about 10-15 seconds as shown below. I did this for a very sort time since I wanted to preserve a few whole chips for the cake.

grinding the chocolate chips

Replace the lid and mix on variable medium-high for about 30 to 45 seconds until smooth. Again, you may need to use the spatula (or the Vitamix damper) to scrape the sides as you go.

Pour the batter into the greased springform or two cake pans. I made the mistake of only using 1 cake pan and it almost overflowed. We had some tense moments baking, having to quickly slide a cookie sheet under the cake pan to prepare for an overflow. After all, it didn’t overflow – thank goodness! If it had, I probably would have been a moron and tried to lick the bottom of the oven after it cooled since it smelled so good 🙂

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes (for 1 cake pan). You will need to shorten the time for 2 pans – I estimate about 30 minutes or so. Bake until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to completely cool – hands off (that’s a reminder for me). Once cooled, cover and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours or longer so it is nice and firm, thick, and deliciously lip-smacking chewy (think fudge texture but better). My cake edges fell a little but it isn’t a problem.

No butter flourless dark chocolate espresso cake:
The butter recipe is the exact same, minus the butter. I made a tiny single serving of the batter without the vegan butter as an experiment. It baked for about 12 minutes. Omitting the butter does change the consistency by a fair amount. This variation is sticky and reminiscent of very moist fudge, but still tastes phenomenal. I think both recipes make delicious desserts and I am going to make both again.