~ Curious Charlie ~

Sunday Bake - Matt Preston's Flourless [2 Ingrdients]-ish Nutella {Pie} Cake @ Sunday, March 19, 2017

Where do you see yourself in five years? Going to the market in the morning, dropping off the stuff in the kitchen, popping a roast in the oven, going to church and back for lunch with the family, if we're not doing a bring-a-plate to share lunch at church that week. But does a roast really take that long? Aren't you meant to not use the oven without keeping a close eye on it?

All questions for the future. For now we've offered to bring cake for dessert. Something easy that you can make the night before, while catching up on the blog. And so we came across Matt Preston's Flourless Nutella Cake! With more than 9.5k reviews and only two ingredients, it's something I've been meaning to try for a while, since I've had the same jar of Nutella for two years XD I might be a sugar addict but I never eat from the jar or lick the spoon.

All you need is 4 eggs, Nutella and an oven! Best to make it before bed so it can chill in the fridge overnight, or at least 4 hours before serving. We went for overnight, as I can't leave it alone on the bench, and don't trust my house mates to either (I know who ate my highly medicated tom yum soup guys!).

Whip up the eggs, yes the whole egg (minus the shell) even the yolks.

Give it 12 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Microwave the Nutella, 10 seconds at a time, stir till melted. It's important that you don't prep the Nutella till the eggs are ready. Why? Because the Nutella will start to firm up again. Also it will look like it has seized - that's normal.

In a second bowl combine Nutella and 1/3 (a third) of the eggs. You don't have to be gentle with the first batch, but with the second and third fold it into the mixture with a dessert spoon.

Gently pour into a 20cm springform tin lined with baking paper.

Place that on a tray. Bake for 20 minutes at 160 degrees.

Remove from oven. Let it cool on the bench, then move it into the fridge overnight.

Here's what it looks like chilled the next day.

While you can serve it as is, half the fun is decorating the cake!

As it was summer and strawberries were in season we decorated the cake with strawberries and cream. I'd expected it to be rich, hence the fruit and cream to cut through what I thought would be a dense and rich cake - but I couldn't be more wrong!

Washed, hulled and halved strawberries provided a serving guide, well cutting guide. Do you want one strawberry or two? Serves 8-16 people, or less, but at least 6 I'd say. - And as an American our serving sizes are generous.

The strawberries also works as a boarder for the cream, whipped till soft peaks form with two dessert spoons of sifted icing sugar (sifting optional, just make sure there are no lumps).

A two strawberry slice, the first time I made it I accidentally took a nap so the eggs deflated and were twice whipped. As a result the cake didn't rise as high, but tastes the same fudgy but not rich, just like a chocolate tart minus the crust! Therefore the name of the recipe "Matt Preston's Flourless [2 Ingrdients]-ish Nutella {Pie} Cake"! Two ingredients before it's decorated, here you see: Eggs, Nutella, powdered/icing sugar, strawberries and cream.

Quick (if you don't chill it), easy and cheap it's a crowd pleaser!

Flourless it's also gluten free for your celiac/glutard (2) friends! Though I wouldn't have any glutard friends. XD No I'm not making this dairy free, don't ask things like that. I'm American, the basis of our cooking is sugar and butter, replace sugar for cream in savory foods.

Here's the recipe, copy and paste from Cookaroo, with a few edits.

Matt Preston's Flourless [2 Ingrdients]-ish Nutella {Pie} Cake
Serves 6+

4 Eggs (use large eggs, or 4 small eggs + 1 more egg white)
250g Chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella is the most popular here)

Utensils
- Two large bowls
- Microwave jug
- Springform pan + oven tray
- Electric whisk/beaters

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade, fan forced setting. Line a 20cm springform tin with baking/grease-proof paper. If it doesn't stick to the tin, use the stick of butter as a glue stick.
In a large bowl break all four eggs and whisk with a hand-mixer. You want the eggs to become completely pale and frothy and quadruple in size which will take about 10 - 15 minutes of constant whisking. You can add vanilla extract if you like.
Meanwhile in a microwave jug, microwave 250 grams of chocolate hazelnut spread (half my 500g jar), 10 seconds at a time. - Do not do this till the eggs are ready. Why? Find the picture on this note above.
Add a third of the frothy eggs into the Nutella and stir until completely incorporated.
Fold in the rest of the eggs very carefully so that you don't completely loose the air. Use a dessert spoon, fold, fold fold.
Gently pour it into your springform tin, placed on a tray (otherwise have fun taking it out later), reduce heat to 160 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove and cool completely. Refrigerator for at least four hours before serving.

To Decorate
- Fresh Cream
- Strawberries/Raspberries
- Powdered/Icing Sugar

Questions & Answers

How sweet is it? Not anywhere as sweet as I thought! My asian friend approves.

What's the texture like? Bouncy like thick custardy jello/firm. Pudding?? Pie filling!

Do you need the eggs to be room temperature? No, it doesn't make a difference.

Do I really need to serve it chilled? No, but it won't be the same. Also you can't have the cream on top, because the heat will melt it into a puddle.

How much strawberries and cream did you use? Less than a punnet for strawberries. Cream? Not sure, I whipped it all up and mixed the remaining strawberries and cream that weren't used for the cake, to be served with ice cream.

Let me know what your thoughts are if you do make this cake! Have you experimented with other cakes that use only a handful of ingredients? Let us know in the comments below.

Join us next time for our three ingredient cheesecake!