A great fondant au chocolat (a.k.a chocolate lava cake) may seem daunting to replicate; achieving that luscious-gooey-goodness while having a thin wall of cake, just enough to hold back the chocolate waterfall. It doesn't require a whole lot of tools, it will work if you bake it in a ramekin, a cookie cutter, a baking ring. You just have to take the leap of faith, and try baking one in your oven, then adjust your baking timing or temperatures. Think of it like a pancake, the first one's always kinda wonky, but it still tastes great.
Over-baked it? It's okay, re-brand it as a chocolate cupcake or muffin, it still tastes as amazing.
But don't you worry, I've tested this recipe several times, and have taken a foolproof, step-by-step video-tutorial at the end of the post. Follow it through and you'll have the perfect fondant au chocolat! This is a recipe shared by pastry chef Hauchard Thibault, who leads the team at The Dorchester, London. All I've done is to interpret it and to look into the finer details of getting it right for beginners.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fondant au Chocolat (makes approx. 4 servings)
75g chocolate (53% Callebaut), melted*
62g butter
75g sugar
100g whole eggs
25g plain flour
4g cocoa powder
4g milk
Direction
Melt the butter and chocolate gently in the microwave, or over a hot water bath (bain marie), set aside to cool.
Whisk sugar into eggs lightly, then pour the melted chocolate and butter mixture over. Mix with a spatula until well-combined.
Sieve plain flour and cocoa powder into the wet mix above, folding in with the spatula gently to avoid any lumps from forming. Finally, add in the milk and stir until well mixed.
Transfer the mix into a piping bag (or you can just cling wrap your bowl). Set aside in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Preheat oven to 190°C (convection oven, fan forced)
Prepare cake rings or ramekins (I recommend 60mm diameter cake rings, I bought from daiso), brush them with butter or oil & line with parchment paper (on the sides & bottom), this is for easier removal.
Measure 80g of the batter (from the fridge) into each mold, place them on a baking tray and bake for 6-7 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow the fondant au chocolat to settle for 1-2 minutes before serving.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tips
They are best served fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream (or chocolate in my case because why not double the goodness).
The addition of milk to the batter is important to keep your fondant au chocolate nice and gooey, with the lava-like consistency. You may try to substitute it with other forms of liquid (nut/soy/rice milk) and let me know what your results are! It is absolutely necessary to rest your batter for at least 2 hours, it allows the batter to settle, giving time for the ingredients (i.e. flour) to hydrate adequately.
*You may opt for other brands of chocolate as long as they are couverture (cooking chocolate). And don't overheat the chocolate as it will burn.
I would love to hear from you if you have tried the recipe, tag me on Instagram and show me your creations! 😄