Fondant Au Chocolat – Love At First Bite
Valentine’s schmalentine’s. Personally, I don’t buy it. But for all you Lovey McLoversons out there, here is a decadent dessert that’s about as melty as your heart each time you gaze into the eyes of your true love. ***Swoon***
If you knew me at all, you would conclude that I’m probably not the most delicate flower out there – I often break out into a howdy doody dance in the middle of the sidewalk and I snort when I laugh. Needless to say, I don’t believe in the obligatory schmoochfest that you folks call “Valentine’s Day”. However, I am a proponent of chocolate.
And if you knew both of us, you would conclude that we are probably one of the most nauseatingly affectionate and deeply in love duos east of the Mississippi.
We’re that vomitous couple who sits on the same side of the booth at restaurants or, heaven forbid, we’re seated at a two-top facing each other but still manage to hold hands from across the table. We are constantly gazing into each other’s eyes and so deeply engaged in our conversation that we don’t even realize the server has refilled our water. He even makes endearing attempts to feed me only to lose the morsel of food on the table or on my lap during transport. And although I would prefer to feed myself because he puts man-size bites on the fork, compromising my futile attempt at acting like a lady, I still give him googly eyes at his sincere gesture.
For 364 days a year, we never cease to nauseate bystanders as we celebrate our love and affection for each other. So on Valentine’s Day, we like to give the rest of society an opportunity to give us a taste of our own medicine as they make kissy noises in public. Meanwhile, you can find us at the gym where it makes it awfully difficult to hold hands while wearing our boxing gloves. And if we so much as try to sneak a kiss, our trainer would probably kick our ass.
Without further adieu, I present to you a recipe that hails from his motherland and is by far, the best gosh darn fondant au chocolat we’ve ever had. I’ve attempted many other recipes, but this unique technique of freezing the batter definitely takes the cake…pun intended. And as my gift to you, I’ve included plenty of food porn to get those juices flowing *wink wink*.
Ingredients:
| 100 | grams Lindt 85% Cocoa, broken in tiny pieces |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 5 | Tbsp white granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting the ramekins |
| 4 | Tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature |
| 2 3/4 | Tbsp flour |
| 1 | Tbsp creme fraîche |
| 4 | oven-safe ramekins |
- Lightly coat the inside of your ramekin molds with butter then dust with granulated sugar. Set aside. Next, using the bain marie method, melt the chocolate pieces (refrain from stirring as it melts). Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and 5 Tbsp of sugar until pale yellow.
- Once the chocolate is completely melted, remove container from the heat and mix in the butter. Next, slowly add the the egg and sugar mixture. Add flour and finally the creme fraîche. Pour and distribute the batter evenly into four ramekins. Place in the freezer overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove ramekins from freezer and place in a 375 degree preheated oven. Bake for 13 minutes. Remove ramekins from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Use a sharp knife to scrape along the edge of the cake. Next, take individual serving plate and rest it on top of the ramekin mold. Holding the mold with an oven mitt and keeping the plate in contact with the mold, invert the cake onto the plate. Tap the ramekins lightly and gently lift away. Dust with powdered sugar, garnish with a few raspberries and top it all off with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream! Happy Hearts Day!
September 3rd, 2011 at 02:50
They look divine! I’m thinking of making them for a dinner of 8 next weekend. Would I need to double the recipe for 125ml ramekins?