Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants; a simpler take on this classic French dessert oozing with warm molten chocolate.
If you’ve ever eaten dessert in a restaurant, chances are you’ll have come across a chocolate fondant or two.
A staple of dessert menus for decades, the chocolate fondant is a global favourite. It appeals to those of us who love the deep indulgence of cocoa-rich desserts, as well as those who prefer a light but sweet finish to a meal. The lightness of its cakey exterior and richness of its liquid chocolate centre create a perfect balance that never stops appealing to sweet tastes everywhere.
Delicious, dark, decadent, even romantic, she’s got it all.
While the chocolate fondant is an iconic finale to a restaurant meal, it remains something rarely made in home kitchens. And for good reason.
If you’ll pardon my French, the chocolate fondant is nothing short of a tricky bastard.
It involves careful mixing and folding. It requires a delicate touch while moulding. It needs attentive timing when baking. The whole recipe can prove to be a bit of a faff. On this basis, it’s no surprise that a million variations of this classic dessert exist. Whether you have tried eating or making them, you may recognise a few.
You may have seen the traditional French version which calls for nothing but a light chocolate cake batter baked for a short time, relying on the just-undercooked centre for that goo. You may have watched Chef and been introduced to the secrets of the “lava cake” involving the insertion of a small log of frozen chocolate ganache to ensure the soft centre, even if slightly over-baked. Otherwise, you may have seen those who like to be a bit of a cheat and just whack a square or two of chocolate into the centre of the fondant batter before baking for minimal effort and almost guaranteed results.
The latter is the only way I’ll make fondants from now on.
I first tried out this recipe while creating my new YouTube series – teaching myself to be a pastry chef – with the help of Le Cordon Bleu’s Pastry book. It is by no means equal to the world-renowned culinary courses that the school provides, but I’ve been using it as a means to grow my skillset during lockdown. The Chocolate Fondant recipe from the book took me more than 3 attempts to make something edible. The first was under-baked to the point it could barely be plated without collapsing into a volcanic eruption, the second so over-baked it became a dense chocolate cupcake. I’ve tweaked the best parts of the recipes to become a new Maverick Baking favourite that I’m sharing with you guys today.
Today’s recipe for Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants is a simpler way of making and enjoying this iconic dessert. It doesn’t require any fancy equipment like special moulds. You won’t need to faff about with tiny shapes of chocolate ganache either. As long as you can get your hands on some cupcake cases, you can make these Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants!
Popping a wee bit of chocolate into the centre of the batter opens up a whole realm of opportunity in a recipe like this. It means a much larger margin for error, meaning even a couple of minutes’ over-baking is less melodramatic. Similarly, it means you can add your own flair to the Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants. If you would love a white chocolate centre, a chocolate-orange centre, or a super-dark chocolate centre, you can do it. You could throw in a different kind of chocolate for each fondant, or make them with your very favourite flavours. They are wonderfully customisable.
As ever, I’d always recommend trying out Cocoa Runners’ cooking chocolate for the best quality in baking. Their dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or cocoa powder, would work beautifully to some capacity in this recipe. Don’t forget to use code MaverickBaking10 for 10% off!
I hope you’ll love this recipe as much as we have. We’ve been eating them warm as a dessert, or even cold as a snack or chocolatey breakfast. Thanks as always for stopping by!
Want to save these Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants for later? You can pin the image below:
To make these Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants, simply follow the recipe below:
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 135g (⅔ cup) caster sugar
- 135g (9 tbsp) salted butter
- 150g (5 oz) dark chocolate min. 60% cocoa solids
- 40g (⅓ cup) plain flour
- 25g (¼ cup) cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
- Squares of milk or dark chocolate
Instructions
- Look out a 12-hole cupcake or muffin tin. Line 8-10 of the holes with paper, foil or silicone cases and dust them with some cocoa powder.
- Preheat your oven – 200 C / 180 C fan / gas mark 6 / 400 F.
- Pour your eggs and sugar into a large heatproof bowl. Place it over a saucepan of gently simmering water.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together, ideally with an electric whisk, for a few minutes just until they are warm to the touch.
- Once warm, remove the bowl from the saucepan and continue to whisk the mixture for another 2-3 minutes or until thick and pale. Set aside.
- Melt together your butter and chocolate in a separate heatproof bowl, either in short blasts in the microwave or over the same pan of simmering water.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture, the flour, and the cocoa powder into the fluffy egg mixture. Gently whisk until just combined together into a smooth fluffy mixture.
- Spoon the chocolate mixture into your prepared cases, filling them just halfway up.
- Gently place a square of your milk or dark chocolate into the centre of the mixture in the cases.
- Fill the remaining space in your cases with the rest of your mixture.
- Place your tin into the preheated oven and bake for 6-7 minutes. The fondants should look baked on the outside and just slightly under-baked in the centre.
- Remove the tin from the oven and allow the fondants to cool for 5-10 minutes before plating them, this should be just long enough to help them hold their shape.
- Serve up your fondants with a dusting of cocoa, a dollop of whipped cream, or a spoon of ice cream.
- Enjoy!
BE A MAVERICK: why not try adding your favourite chocolate in the centre? White chocolate, dark chocolate, or even flavoured chocolate can be a great way to personalise this dessert!
These Cheat’s Chocolate Fondants can be kept for up to 4 days in an airtight container, and gently warmed to reheat. They are always best enjoyed fresh though!
