No Bake Pistachio Chocolate Truffle Cake
With a handful of ingredients and 10 minutes you can make this divinely rich chocolate cake. No oven or baking required!
This naturally gluten free recipe is basically a giant truffle – seriously, how fabulous is that? Decadent dark chocolate flavored with a touch of coffee liqueur and topped with crunchy, slightly salty pistachios, this cake is sophisticated, sinful, and surprisingly simple (but we can just keep that part to ourselves!)
The cake is best made in a small loaf pan lined with parchment. I use an inexpensive foil, disposable 8 by 4 inch loaf pan from the grocery store. The flexibility of the pan makes it easy to get the cake out of the pan.
I developed this recipe for a spread on chocolate ganache in the January/February 2013 issue of Gluten Free & More Magazine, pick up a copy and discover how versatile and adaptable this simple mixture of chocolate and cream (or coconut milk for dairy free) can be!
I like to use chocolate that I chop up into small chunks but you can also use good quality chocolate chips, just make sure they don’t contain any wax or fillers.
As a final note, it is probably a good idea to serve this cake in small slices lest your guest wind up in a chocolate coma!
Gluten Free No Bake Pistachio Chocolate Truffle Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- Gluten free non-stick cooking spray or melted butter
- 12 ounces dark chocolate semi, bittersweet, or dairy free or good quality chocolate chips
- 8 ounces heavy cream or full fat coconut milk shake can well before measuring
- 3 tablespoons gluten free coffee flavored liqueur such as Kahlua
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup roasted salted and shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Spray an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray or brush with butter. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper (important if you want to be able to remove the cake from the pan.)
- Chop the chocolate evenly into small pieces. Alternatively, you can use good quality chocolate chips that contain no wax fillers. Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl.
- Bring the cream and liqueur (if using) just to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir the vanilla into the hot cream and pour the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until the chocolate and cream are fully combined and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour into the prepared pan, smooth out the top and sprinkle with the chopped nuts if using. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.
- Using the parchment to help you, remove the cake from the pan and slice with a thin, hot knife (run the knife under hot water then dry with a towel.)
Nutrition
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that looks divine! will be making it this week!
Enjoy Vivian!
Hi, Carol-this sounds delicious and simple! Any suggestions on other liqueurs that would work in this recipe? We’re not big on coffee flavoring in our house. Thanks!
Hi Karen. You can simply leave out the liqueur or you can substitute with any flavor you wish! Raspberry and orange are lovely. Enjoy and yes, it is so simple!
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Hi, Carol! What a great tasting dessert. It’s so nice to be able to eat chocolate!!
My dessert did not harden completely, any suggestions on what I might have done wrong? I used coconut milk that’s sold with soy, rice and almond milk in the dairy section of the store. Perhaps canned? No worries, though, it was a great dip for our fruits!
Mahalo nui.
Hi Lynn, I agree with you about chocolate! Yes, use the canned full fat kind. And shkae the can well before measuring. You need a good amount of fat (like cream would have in it) for it to harden up properly.
I made this for Passover. Absolutely decadent and addicting :). I used the full fat coconut but it still did not harden all the way. It made a fabulous spread for my gluten free matza though. Thanks for the great and super easy recipe!
Sorry it doidn’t firm up for you but I am happy you still liked it. I would say use canned full fat coconut milk, the thicker the better – try the organic kind from Thai Kitchen, it is pretty thick. And make sure you sjake the can well before measuring. If you still have trouble you can always cut the coconut milk by about 25 percent.
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I like the coffee flavoring but can’t use the liquor because of the alcohol content. Could I substitute espresso made with 2-3TBS of water with instant espresso? Thanks.
You can definitely try that out.
xo,
Carol