Individual flourless chocolate cakes with raspberry sauce, whipped rosewater mascarpone and rose petals — an easy, simply beautiful dessert you can make ahead of time.

Individual flourless chocolate cake on a small plate, with red raspberry sauce, whipped marscarpone cream and rose petals.

These mini chocolate cakes are muffin-size cakes that make the prettiest plated desserts, but without too much fuss. I like to call them “babycakes”!

This recipe is great for entertaining because each component  — the cake, raspberry sauce and mascarpone cream — can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time.

When you’re ready to serve, all you have to do is pop the cakes and sauce on to plates along with the cream and you’re good to go!

IIndividual flourless chocolate cake on a small plate, with red raspberry sauce, whipped marscarpone cream and rose petals.

The mini chocolate cakes bake in a standard muffin tin. They turn out airy, moist and lightly sweet. You can also bake the batter as one cake, if that’s easier for you — see the recipe below.

The cakes pair beautifully with a simple raspberry sauce and dollops of creamy whipped mascarpone flavored with rosewater.

Individual flourless chocolate cake on a small plate, with red raspberry sauce, whipped marscarpone cream and rose petals.

Chocolate and roses for date night

Chocolate and roses pair especially well in baking, with the bitterness of dark chocolate complementing the earthy, floral essence of roses. And rosewater, made by distilling water with rose petals, has a soft, musky aroma that’s pretty distinctive, but I love it with chocolate.

I’ll bet you a dollar your guests will be intrigued without knowing exactly what it is – XO

Individual flourless chocolate cake on a small plate, with red raspberry sauce, whipped marscarpone cream and rose petals.
5 from 4 ratings

Mini Chocolate Cakes with Rose Whipped Cream

Karen Tedesco
Moist flourless mini chocolate cakes with whipped rose water mascarpone and raspberry sauce are easy to make, but look restaurant-worthy. Perfect for a romantic dinner!
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Yield: 12 cakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients
 

Raspberry sauce:

  • 1 12-ounce (165 g) package frozen raspberries, thawed
  • 6 tablespoons (90 g) sugar
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) water

Rosewater mascarpone:

  • 1 8ounce (225 g) container mascarpone cheese
  • ¾ cup (185 ml) heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup (40 g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons rosewater

Chocolate cakes:

  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) melted butter
  • 11 tablespoons (165 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 7 ounces (200 g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup (200 g) sugar
  • 1 ¾ cups (196 g) almond meal
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 5 large eggs, separated
  • Garnish:
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Edible dried rose petals

Equipment

Instructions
 

Make the raspberry sauce:

  1. Put the raspberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and cool. Puree the raspberries and liquid in a blender or food processor and strain. Set the sauce aside or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.

Make the whipped mascarpone:

  1. Beat the mascarpone in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes on medium speed, until lightened and fluffy. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the cream, sugar and rose water to the mixer bowl. Switch to the whisk attachment and whip the cream until if forms medium-stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone until completely blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using, and up to 2 days before serving.

Make the cakes:

  1. Heat the oven to 350 (175 C) degrees.
  2. Brush the inside of a 12-cup standard muffin pan with the melted butter.
  3. Put the cubed butter and chocolate in a large heatproof mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir gently until melted.Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in 1/2 cup of the sugar, almond flour and salt. Cool to room temperature.
  4. Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer on high speed with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes until the egg whites are dry.
  5. Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the chocolate mixture and fold it in until no streaks appear. Add the remaining egg whites and fold again to blend thoroughly.
  6. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cakes emerge with a few crumbs. Let the cakes cool 10 minutes, then invert the pan over a cooling rack. When the pan has completely cooled, gently release the cakes.
  7. To serve, place each cake on a serving plate. Pour raspberry sauce around the cake and add a spoonful of cream on the side. Dust the cakes with cocoa and sprinkle with crumbled rose petals.

Notes

  • The raspberry sauce and whipped mascarpone can be made up to 2 days ahead. The cakes will also keep a few days in a covered container or wrapped in plastic.
  • If you’d like to serve this as one cake, use a buttered 9-inch springform pan and increase baking time to 30 -35 minutes.
  • You don’t need to add much rosewater when using it as a flavoring — just a few drops makes an impression, and less is more. ou should be able to find rosewater in specialty stores, or easily order rosewater on Amazon.
Rosewater mascarpone from Kristen Kish Cooking. Cake recipe adapted from Sweet: Desserts from London’s Ottolenghi

Nutrition per serving

Serving: 1serving Calories: 466kcal Carbohydrates: 38g Protein: 7g Fat: 35g Sodium: 107mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 27g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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