These deep, dark, decadently rich Chocolate Cat Cakes will make adults forget that they are too old to collect candy on Halloween. Who needs a candy bar, when you can enjoy a lusciously creamy chocolate cake?
If you are hosting a Halloween party and want a dessert to serve that is whimsical and fun, yet has an amazingly grown-up flavor, these black cat cakes are purr-fect.
These flourless chocolate cakes are so creamy, much like a cheesecake, and have an intense chocolate flavor that is enhanced by a shot of richly flavored coffee.
I thought the individual-sized chocolate cakes would make a wonderful dessert to serve at our Halloween party, so I just had to decorate them. I used modeling chocolate decorations to turn my cakes into black cats. They looked amazing on our dessert table.
Let's make some cat cakes.
Ingredients
Flourless Chocolate Cakes: (This recipe is adapted from Cooks Illustrated.)
- hot coffee - Adding coffee will enhance the chocolate flavor.
- semi-sweet chocolate - Use your favorite dark chocolate bars or chips. The flavor will really shine through.
- butter - You can use salted or unsalted butter. Either will work fine.
- eggs
Decorations:
- dark modeling chocolate
- pink modeling chocolate
- bright green modeling chocolate
- clear piping gel or light corn syrup
Supplies
silicone half-sphere mold
roasting pan - Best if it has a flat rack insert.
round cookie cutters
heart plunger cutters
oval plunger cutters
mini cookie cutters
silicone mat
fondant rolling pin
You can find the supplies needed to create these black cat cakes on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the Amazon links on this page to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.
Instructions
Before you get your recipe together, you are going to need to preheat the oven to 325 degrees and set a roasting pan in the oven filled with enough water to go halfway up the sides of a silicone half-sphere mold.
Brew your coffee.
If you want the chocolate cakes to have a robust mocha flavor, use a strong cup of coffee.
If you prefer to taste just the chocolate in the cake, use a weaker cup of coffee.
The coffee will intensify the chocolate flavor either way you brew your coffee.
Make the flourless chocolate cakes.
Now to use that coffee in the cake batter, just pour it over the finely chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat bowl in the microwave on high power for 20-30 second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Alternatively, you can melt this in a double boiler set over low heat. Make sure the chocolate reaches 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs until they double in volume. Using a mixer will keep your arm from falling off, but it's up to you how you'd like to get this job done.
Stir one-third of the eggs into the melted chocolate to loosen the chocolate. Fold in the remaining eggs.
Fill the silicone molds with cake batter.
To get nice domed cakes to make your cats, you'll need to use 3 silicone molds with 6 half-sphere cavities. Butter the inside of the mold then equally divide the cake batter among them, filling them about ¾ full.
Bake the flourless chocolate cakes.
It is best to bake your cakes in a water bath so that they will bake evenly and be creamy and smooth. I found it easiest to use a roasting pan with a removable rack for this job.
Set one mold on the rack, fill it with batter then lower it into the water bath making sure no water sloshes into the cakes.
Bake the cakes for 9-12 minutes until the cakes still look moist and giggle a bit but are beginning to set and reach an internal temperature of 140 - 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the rack and set the mold on a cooling rack. Then repeat the process.
Allow the cakes to cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, then wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Before you want to remove them from the molds, pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes so they become really firm.
To un-mold the cakes, turn the silicone mold upside down and press the cakes out.
Modeling Chocolate Decorations
If you are serving these for Halloween and want to make them look like spooky black cats, you need to decorate them using modeling chocolate, preferably, or fondant.
Check out my 2 ingredient modeling chocolate recipe. There are also tutorials on coloring and working with the modeling chocolate.
You'll need chocolate brown, pink, and green colored modeling chocolate to make these black Halloween cats.
Cut out modeling chocolate decorations.
Roll out your chocolate brown, pink, and green modeling chocolate very thin on a silicone mat using a fondant roller. If it sticks at all, you can lightly dust the work surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar.
Then use small cookie cutters, fondant cutters, or plunger cutters to create the cat's features.
You'll need to cut:
- 18 round chocolate brown snouts using a 1 ½-inch round cutter
- 54 - ⅜ inch pink heart noses and ear fur using a large heart plunger cutter
- 32 - ¾ inch chocolate brown triangle ears
- 32 - ¾ inch green oval eyes
- 32 - ½ inch chocolate brown ovals using a small oval plunger cutter for the pupil. I used a small oval plunger cutter, then stretched the candy a bit to get the shape I wanted.
Cat eyes, nose, and ears.
To add whiskers to the snout, make an indentation in the center of a circle about ⅓rd of the way from the top. Use a knife or metal spatula to indent lines going across the center, creating 3 whiskers on each side. Be careful you don't cut all the way through.
Use small dabs of piping gel or water to attach the pink heart nose to the snout, the pink hearts to the chocolate ears, and the pupils to the eyes.
Decorate your black cat cakes.
Use piping gel to attach the cat's features to the cakes. Just brush a small amount on the back of the snout and eyes and press them onto the cakes. If you don't have piping gel, you can use a small dab of Nutella or chocolate frosting.
To attach the ears, cut small slits in the cake and insert the ears into the cakes.
Storage
Keep your cakes refrigerated until shortly before serving. They are best if allowed to warm up a bit at room temperature, so pull them out at least 20 minutes before serving. They'll go great with a big mug of hot coffee.
Tips
To keep condensation from forming on the modeling chocolate, I like to set my cakes on their serving dishes or individual dessert plates, set them in a baking pan, and drape a piece of paper towel over top so it doesn't touch the cakes.
Then, wrap the baking pan in tin foil. I've even frozen these cakes like this before.
I remove them the day before the party and place them in the refrigerator to begin thawing.
Related Recipes
If you are looking for more black cat-themed recipes or other treats for the holiday, be sure to check out all of my Halloween Recipes.
- butter to grease the molds
- ¼ cup rich brew coffee
- 18 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- 2 sticks of butter ½ lb., cut into small cubes
- 8 large eggs
- 2-4 ounces dark modeling chocolate
- 2 ounces white modeling chocolate-colored pink
- 2 ounces white modeling chocolate colored bright green
- piping gel
-
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
Set water bath in oven to heat up.
-
Butter 18 half-sphere cavities in 3 silicone molds with butter.
-
Pour coffee over chocolate and butter.
-
Heat in microwave on high power for 20-30 second increments, stirring after each until melted.
-
Whisk eggs until they double in volume.
-
Fold ⅓ of the eggs into the chocolate.
-
Fold the remaining eggs into the chocolate.
-
Equally divide among the 18 half-sphere cavities in the silicone molds.
-
Bake for 9-12 minutes in a water bath until an internal temperature of 140-145 degrees is reached.
-
Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
-
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
-
Freeze for 30 minutes.
-
Un-mold.
-
To decorate, create a snout, nose, eyes, and ears out of modeling chocolate.*
-
Attach them to the cakes using piping gel.
-
Cut 2 slits in the cake then insert the two ears.
-
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Gingerbread Cookie Cups - December 2, 2023
- Cheeseburger Skulls - October 15, 2023
- Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes - June 20, 2023
Beth
Thanks so much. These flourless chocolate cakes are one of my absolute favorite desserts. I do hope you give them a try.