A flourless chocolate cake made with Ghirardelli chocolate will having everyone begging for more! A combination of chocolate, cinnamon, coconut and coffee makes this gluten free chocolate cake perfect for Valentine’s Day.

My family has made some pretty drastic changes to our diet this year.  One of the most significant changes has been to cut wheat out of our diet.  We have officially gone “gluten-free.”  So when Ghirardelli asked me to make Valentine’s Day treat with their chocolate, I wanted to avoid wheat so I decided to try a flourless chocolate cake.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a bit of a chocolate snob.  Ghirardelli happens to be one of my favorite brands of chocolate.  I also really love dark chocolate so I chose to use Ghirardelli’s 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking chips for the chocolate cake and ganache topping.  I love the larger size of the 60% cacao chips for more flavor impact.  You don’t have to use dark chocolate, though.  Ghirardelli offers variety of flavors to fit your tastes. Feel free to mix it up and make a chocolate cake with your favorite Ghirardelli chocolate!

I’m always a little paranoid that my cake won’t come out of the pan so I grease and flour my pans when making a cake.  For chocolate cake, I use cocoa powder instead of flour so there isn’t any white dust on the cake when it pops out of the pan.  And since it’s Valentine’s Day this week, I used a heart-shaped cake pan.  Just make sure to use no larger than an 8″ pan.  I made the cake twice because the first time I baked it in a 9″ pan and it was way too thin.

You’ll use a few bowls to make the cake, but it comes together really quickly and easily.  Whisk together cocoa powder, cinnamon, and coffee in a small bowl.  The cinnamon and coffee add a depth of flavor to the cake.

In a small saucepan, melt together the Ghirardelli chocolate and coconut oil. Feel free to use butter if you prefer.  I was trying to make this “healthier” – haha! The coconut oil also adds another layer of flavor and compliments the ganache, which I’d made with coconut milk.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and the melted chocolate.  Then whisk in the eggs, one at a time.  Add the cocoa powder mixture and whisk until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated.  Your batter is ready to bake.

Once the cake is done baking, let it rest for minutes.  Then comes the moment of truth – invert the cake out of the pan and on to a cooling rack. Cheer when it comes out clean without breaking!  Let the cake cool completely.

When you ready to frost the cake, make the ganache. Ganache sounds fancy, but it’s just cream and chocolate mixed together.   I made mine with coconut milk and it’s delicious! But you can use cream, too.   Put a baking sheet under the cake on the cooling rack.  Pour the ganache over the cake and let it fall off the sides into the pan underneath.

Let the cake sit until the ganache has set.  I decided to add sprinkles while the ganache was still wet because my kids think everything is better with sprinkles.  I served the cake the next day at our weekly dinner with my parents.  I just let it sit, covered in a cake carrier, on the counter.