If you’ve ever watched Masterchef you’ll have seen contestant after contestant being warned by Messrs John Torode and Gregg Wallace how tricky it is to make perfect gooey-centred chocolate fondants. Some contestants go ahead anyway (let’s face it, by the time they’re being filmed, they’re already committed!) and get their timings just right so their fondants come out beautifully cooked on the outside and runny in the middle - but many don’t. Today's recipe is a sure-fire way to ensure that you can make chocolate fondants without any of the brouhaha, giving everyone the impression that you’re an absolute genius in the kitchen! (Psst! you can even make them 24 hours before you want to eat them)
Love chocolate? You’ll love these luxurious hot chocolate fondants. Better still, they’re not the ‘unhealthy' indulgence you might have pre-supposed. On the contrary, eaten in moderation, dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids) is very good for you because it’s chock-full of phytonutrients (specifically cocoa flavanolds) that are scientifically proven to be beneficial for the heart, circulation and brain.
Still feeling some parental guilt about consuming chocolate? More information is available in this extensive blog post that fully explains chocolate’s effects on health, its potential benefits and downsides, and the effects of chemical components such as caffeine and theobromine. In summary, don’t gorge on chocolate, but it’s really more than okay to allow yourself to deeply appreciate its wickedly delicious allure.
As part of a Primal lifestyle, best quality dark chocolate does not make you fat. Typically, I eat 2 or 3 squares (up to 15 grams) every day with my morning Nespresso (a double-whammy for the senses which reminds me that life is really worth living) but at least one scientific study found that young people consuming 42.6g of chocolate a day had slimmer waists and lower BMIs than those eating less.
Nice but not naughty after all, dark chocolate has finally achieved superfood status. I suggest you grab a spoon and get stuck in!
Chocolate Fondants (Makes 4 large or 6 small fondants)
Ingredients
125g unsalted butter + extra for greasing
3 whole large organic eggs
2 organic egg yolks (in addition to the the eggs above)
8 drops organic liquid stevia
125g dark chocolate - I used Callebaut Finest Satongo dark chocolate chips
25g tiger nut flour
Good quality chocolate bar, broken into squares (I used Michel Cluizel’s Maralumi dark chocolate bar)
Sukrin icing sugar, for dusting
Organic double or pouring cream, for serving
Instructions
Grease either 4 large or 6 small ramekin dishes.
Melt together the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot (not boiling) water on the hob.
Whilst the chocolate/butter mixture is melting, whisk the eggs / egg yolks / honey and liquid stevia together for about 5 minutes until pale and very thick (it should hold its shape for a few seconds when a little of the mixture is flicked over the surface) - you really need an electric whisk for this.
With a balloon whisk, whisk the tiger nut flour into the chocolate/butter mixture.
Cool the chocolate mixture and then pour into the whisked egg mixture.
Using a metal spoon, fold gently to combine the two mixtures.
Divide the mixture equally between the ramekins.
Leave in the fridge for up to 24 hours before they are required.
Just before cooking, press a square of chocolate into the centre of each ramekin.
Cook for 12-15 minutes at 200℃ / 400℉ / Gas mark 6
Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve immediately.
Notes:
These chocolate fondants are foolproof because you’re not relying on precise cooking times to ensure that the middle of the fondants are soft and runny - instead the melted chocolate squares create a yummy pool of hot chocolate at their centre.
The mixture will carry on cooking in the ramekins, so eat immediately.
Sukrin sweetener is produced via a natural fermentation process from the glucose naturally occurring in pears, melons and mushrooms. The powdered form of Sukrin I’ve used for dusting the chocolate fondants looks, tastes and behaves in exactly the same way as normal white icing sugar made from sugar beet/cane. And, I’m pleased to report, it has no bitter after taste.
Carbohydrate 16g Protein 9g - per small chocolate fondant
Carbohydrate 25g Protein 14g - per large chocolate fondant
