What are French Moelleux Cakes? 

Moelleux Cakes, literally translating to “soft” cakes, are staples from the French Repertoire. The most famous version of “moelleux” is this one, a chocolate moelleux cake, made with a solid amount of chocolate and butter – and no flour – for an utterly rich yet soft texture, as it’s naturally gluten-free. Another trait of this chocolate moelleux cake is the use of stiff-whipped egg whites, which gives it a light and airy textured mouthfeel, despite the richness from the chocolate and butter. 

In comparison to a “French Fondant cake” (rich and dense in the center) or to a “Mi-cuit Au Chocolat” (Molten cake, with a oozy center), a Chocolate Moelleux Cake keeps its shape once sliced – meaning you won’t get a puddle of chocolate in your plate once you cut into it. Yet it still has a very soft texture, especially when enjoyed warm or at room-temperature. 

Other types of moelleux cakes usually have a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth crumb and come nestled with seasonal fruits, such as a Plum Moelleux Cake or a Strawberry Moelleux Cake. 

Tips for making this Chocolate Moelleux Cake (1/2): 

• • Gently melt the chocolate over a bain-marie – meaning over barely simmering water in a double boiler. If heated too rapidly, the chocolate risks to separate or break.
  • Use great-quality chocolate. With just a few ingredients in this recipe, the flavor and texture of this cake relies a lot on the quality of your ingredients, and especially of the chocolate. I recommend splurging a bit for this recipe and buying top-quality chocolate – you won’t regret it. 
  • Beat the eggs whites to a stiff peak. Not soft, not firm, but stiff: meaning peaks will stand straight up when the beaters are lifted.
  • Use older eggs. For best results in getting stiff egg whites, choose eggs that aren’t too fresh (3 to 4 days), and make sure you take them out of the fridge 1 hour before starting, to allow them reach room temperature. When beating older egg whites at room temperature, their proteins will have more elasticity. They will stretch and welcome in more air, rather than break if too fresh or cold.

Tips for making this Chocolate Moelleux Cake (2/2): 

• • Use pristine equipment. When beating the egg whites, make sure you are using a bowl and beater that are perfectly clean. Egg whites tend to refuse to whip if they encounter any residual fat or even if there are tiny amounts of egg yolk.
  • Let the chocolate and butter cool. After melting the chocolate with the butter, allow it to cool at least 10-15 minutes before mixing it into the egg and sugar mixture. It should come to a barely warm temperature, so it incorporates perfectly with the eggs. If too warm, it will “cook” the eggs and form little hard chunks. If too cold, the chocolate could seize up.
  • Fold, don’t stir. When folding the egg whites with the chocolate mixture, use a large rubber spatula and be gentle. The important thing is not to stir, but fold. In small additions, carefully place a portion of the egg whites on top of the chocolate mixture and fold it in by using a flipping motion. Stop when the batter is just uniform – do not over-mix. 
  • If you have a gluten allergy, you can use unsweetened cocoa for the pan, instead of flour. Other than that, this cake is naturally gluten-free. 

How to store this Classic French Chocolate Moelleux Cake

• Chill it. After making (and enjoying) this cake – if you have any leftovers – you can cover it with plastic film and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Don’t freeze it. I don’t recommend freezing this cake. The texture is delicate, and the cake will likely get soggy/mushy when thawing. 

I hope you’ll love this Classic French Chocolate Moelleux Cake as much as I do! If you have any questions, please leave a comment. 

If you like chocolate, you may also like:

• • Chocolate Pots de Crème 
  • Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake
  • Thick Double Chocolate Pudding
  • Classic French Chocolate Mousse 
  • Brownies with Pecans & Fleur de Sel

Classic French Chocolate Moelleux Cake

Print Recipe

Serves: 8-10 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.3/5

( 22 voted )

Ingredients

7 oz (200g) dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
¾ cup + 2 tbsp (200g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200g) sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature. yolks and whites separated
1 tbsp (10g) cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
For greasing the pan: 1 tsp butter + 1 tsp flour (or unsweetened cocoa)

Instructions

Make sure your read the tips in the article above before starting. 

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the middle. Grease a 8”or 9” circular springform pan with butter and dust with flour (or unsweetened cocoa powder). Set aside.

Step 1 – In a medium steel bowl, over a bain-marie, melt the 7 oz (200g) of chopped chocolate with the butter. Once melted, set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes. 

Step 2 – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ½ cup (100g) of sugar with the egg yolks, until pale and foamy. While whisking, pour in the melted butter and chocolate. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, and whisk to combine.

Step 3 – In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the 6 egg whites and salt to a stiff peak. Add the rest of the sugar (1/2 cup - 100g), gradually while still beating. With a spatula, fold about ¼ or less of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold gently and stop mixing when just uniform. In three or four more additions, fold in the rest of the egg whites. The batter should be airy and "jiggly". 

Step 4 - Pour the batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cake looks puffy. The edges should be set and the middle still slightly wobbly. Transfer onto a cooling rack; the cake will deflate as it cools and the top will wrinkle. Let cool at least 15 minutes and remove from the pan.

Enjoy slightly warm (melty texture), at room temperature (soft texture) or chilled (firmer texture).

The post Classic French Chocolate Moelleux Cake appeared first on Pardon Your French.

Cooking notes: 

• I love how this Strawberry Moelleux cake can be thrown together in a pinch and it doesn’t need to look perfect. This makes it a great recipe for Summer, when you don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and would rather be outside. 
• The strawberries can be replaced with other Summer fruits such as blueberries, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots. Raspberries and blackberries may however be too delicate and will likely break apart when folded into the thick/dense batter. 
• Make sure the butter is unsalted and at room temperature. It should be soft to be mixed into the batter easily. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this Fresh Strawberry Moelleux Cake as much as I do! If you have any questions, please leave a comment. 

You may also like: 

• Classic French Strawberry Tart (Tarte aux Fraises)
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp 
• Strawberry Flaugnarde
• Strawberry Rhubarb Galette
• Plum Moelleux Cake

Fresh Strawberry Moelleux Cake

Print Recipe

Serves: 8-10 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 55 Minutes 55 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.5/5

( 6 voted )

Ingredients

300g fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half
3/4 cup (150g) white sugar
¼ cup (50g) brown sugar + 1 tbsp (for sprinkling)
1 ¾ cup (220g) all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp (8g) baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks/225g) unsalted butter, cubed & at room temp.
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/350°F with a rack in the middle. Line up a 8” (20.3cm) or 9” (22.9cm) circular cake pan with parchment paper at the bottom and grease the sides. 

Step 1 - In a large bowl, whisk together the two sugars, flour, salt and baking powder. Add the cubed butter with a spatula and mix until just incorporated. Add the 4 eggs and mix until just incorporated.

Step 2 - Gently fold ½ of the strawberries into the batter and transfer into the cake pan. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Place the rest of the halved strawberries onto the cake, cut-side down and in a circular pattern. You do not need to press on the strawberries – the batter will expand enough to "grab them". Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over top. 

Step 3 - Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Transfer onto a cooling rack and wait 20-25 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Enjoy warm or cooled.

The post Fresh Strawberry Moelleux Cake appeared first on Pardon Your French.

A “moelleux” is a French cake made with the simplest of ingredients and a generous amount of butter, for a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The crumb is rich and a little dense, which makes it the perfect vessel for ripe Summer fruits likes blueberries, apricots and plums. I make this recipe with apricots every Summer, but this year called for plums – and it was just as irresistible.

Cooking notes: 

• The plums can be replaced by other stone fruits such as peaches, apricots and cherries. Blueberries are a great choice as well. However, other Summer berries such as raspberries or blackberries may be too delicate and will likely break apart when folded into the thick/dense batter. 
• Make sure the butter is at room temperature. It should be soft in order to be mixed into the batter easily. 

I hope you’ll love this Plum Moelleux Cake as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. 

You may also like:

• Orange Yogurt Cake 
• Lemon Poppy seed Yogurt Cake 
• Blueberry Almond Financiers
• Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake

Plum Moelleux Cake

Print Recipe

Serves: 8 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 55 Minutes 55 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.3/5

( 22 voted )

Ingredients

4 plums, (pit removed) sliced into thin slices
3/4 cup (150g) white sugar
¼ cup (50g) brown sugar + 1 tbsp (for sprinkling)
1 ¾ cup (220g) all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp (8g) baking powder
1 cup (2 sicks/225g) unsalted butter, cubed & at room temp.
4 large eggs

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F with a rack in the middle. Line up a 9” cake pan with parchement paper.

Step 1 - In a large bowl, combine the two sugars, flour, salt and baking powder. Add the cubed butter with a spatula and mix until just incorporated. Add the 4 eggs and mix until just incorporated.

Step 2 - Gently fold ¾ of the plum slices into the batter and transfer into the cake pan. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon and top with the rest of the plum slices, placed in a circular pattern.

Step 3 - Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy still warm. 

This recipe was inspired by Francois-Regis Gaudry’s recipe of “Moelleux a l’Abricot”. I bake mine in a 9′ circular cake pan (instead of a gratin dish). I switched the apricots for plums, reduced the amount of sugar and substituted some white sugar for brown sugar. I replaced the “sachet de levure” (which is commonly used in France) by baking powder, and slightly adjusted the amount of flour and butter as well.

Did you make this recipe?

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The post Plum Moelleux Cake appeared first on Pardon Your French.