Chocolate Fondants
It's all about the indulgence with this diet busting recipe. Great for a dinner party as they can be made in advance, and as long as you've done a practice run before, they should come out perfect every time.
Method
- Prepare 4 ramekins. This step is important, although it may seem like a hassle, it's better to do this now than ruin your desert because they won't come out of the ramekins! Take one ramekin at a time:
- Brush with the melted butter, be generous and make sure that it's all covered.
- Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder, roll and shake it around so it coats the bottom and sides with no gaps. Tip the excess on to a plate to use for the next one.
- Place the ramekins in the fridge and make the mixture:
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water.
- Dissolve the instant coffee in a teaspoon of boiling water, and add to the melted chocolate. Place the bowl aside and let cool slightly whilst continuing with the next steps.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk. The mixture should turn pale, which will take about 5 minutes.
- Sift the flour into the eggs and fold into the mix. Don't over-mix this, the less you mix, the less cakey the final result will be (you don't want cakey).
- Gently fold the melted chocolate into the mix.
- Divide the mixture out between the ramekins evenly and place into the fridge for at least an hour before cooking. If the mixture isn't evenly divided, then some will take longer to cook than others, which is a pain!
- Cook the fondants:
- Preheat the oven. Its important that the oven is at temperature before cooking these fondants otherwise you'll end up with a cake, without a molten centre!
- Take the ramekins out of the fridge and place on a baking tray. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they need a good crust on the top but you don't want them to overcook. If you're brave, use a sharp knife and see how much of the centre is molten, to gauge their 'doneness'.
- Carefully turn out onto a serving plate. Dust with cocoa powder (using a sieve) and dollop some ice cream on the top. Serve quickly, these don't like sitting around!
Tips
- If making these for a dinner party, do a trial run before the event. Not only will this allow you to have a sneaky sample of what they'll taste like, but will also allow you to adjust the temperature of your oven as everyone's is different.
- Making these in advance will give you more consistent results, as they will have cooled to the same temperature in the fridge. If you cook them without them being chilled first, the cooking times may differ.
Main Ingredients
- Dark Chocolate (70 % cocoa)
- 150 g
- Plain Flour
- 100 g
- Caster Sugar
- 110 g
- Eggs
- 4, 2 whole -2 yolks only
- Salted Butter
- 120 g, 100 g for the batter - 20 g for melting
- Cocoa Powder
- 2 tbsp
- Instant Coffee
- 1 tsp