I had the girls round for dinner the other night. Mr. C was doing his thing in London so my two girlfriends came round and it was great to see them and catch up. I had a little difficulty trying to decide what to cook for dinner, but I did know that, having shared a room with one of them in college for 2 years, the chocolate fondant I had decided on for dessert would be a big hit. And it was!
I have always loved chocolate fondant but was terrified of trying to make them for years. Two minutes too little in the oven, and the will end up all over the plate like chocolate sauce. Two minutes too long and they are like upside down cupcakes. However, when you get the timing right, they resemble an upside down cupcake on the outside, but when you break into them, the hot chocolate filling oozes out over your plate.
They are very simple to make and can be made in advance, stored in the fridge to be baked when you require them. I usually take them out of the fridge when serving dinner to allow them to come up to room temperature before baking for 9-12 minutes at 180C. It may take a couple of tries to get them perfect. I had the timing down to a T when I was using my mothers oven, however, when I was using my own, it took 2 or 3 attempts to get it right. And I have to say that I did enjoy those efforts.
To make, you will need to grease 4-5 dariole molds with unsalted butter, and then dust with cocoa. Set to one side.
Your ingredients are;
100g unsalted butter, 100g dark chocolate*, 100g caster sugar, 100g whole eggs & 50g plain flour
Melt the butter and chocolate in a bain marie. While this is melting, whisk the sugar and eggs together until creamy. Once the chocolate has melted, pour two tablespoons of the chocolate into the sugar and egg mixture and stir. Once combined, pour the rest of the chocolate into the mixture and combine.
Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in gently.
Pour the batter into the molds and bake in your preheated oven for 9-12 minutes. I find that three quarter filling the molds is more than enough. These are very rich.
These little chocolate fondants are also perfect for a certain Jour d’Amour that is fast approaching. You could easily half the ingredients and just make two. Serve with a rich vanilla icecream and a dusting of cocoa powder.
Valentines Day is not an event in our house. I cancel it every year in early January. However, saying that each to their own. If you do celebrate Valentines, this is the perfect dessert to finish a quiet, romantic night in. If you are trying to watch the pennies, why not stay in and make dinner together. One of you can make the mains and the other the dessert.
We will be celebrating on the 13th (hopefully) when Ireland play France. Fingers crossed the Irish rugby team and fans can show the French a thing or two about passion!!!
Enjoy,
Orls xx
*I have used 100% cocoa solid chocolate for these before and they were amazing, but ridiculously heavy. If you are using that high a cocoa content, you could use a smaller mold.
