French · Dessert
Chocolate Fondant
The molten-centre chocolate cake timed to the minute — batter holds 24 h in the fridge, so each one bakes to order and erupts on cue
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- Dark chocolate, 70% — 200 g
- Unsalted butter — 180 g (plus 20 g for moulds)
- Eggs — 4 (220 g)
- Egg yolks — 2 (40 g)
- Caster sugar — 120 g
- Plain flour — 60 g
- Fine salt — 2 g
- Cocoa powder (moulds) — 15 g
- Icing sugar — 10 g
Method
- Butter six 180 ml dariole moulds twice (chill between coats); dust with cocoa.
- Melt chocolate and butter to 45 °C over a bain-marie.
- Whisk eggs, yolks and sugar 2 min until pale and slightly thickened.
- Fold the chocolate into the eggs; then the flour and salt — stop as it homogenises.
- Fill moulds to 1 cm below the rim. Chill at least 1 h (up to 24 h).
- Bake from the fridge at 200 °C for 11–13 min: edges set and risen, a 3 cm centre still glossy and trembling.
- Rest 60 sec; run a thin knife around; invert onto plates with one firm shake.
- Dust and serve within 2 min.