Chocolate Fondant Puddings

I'm back! I have just moved house so you have to excuse the radio silence on the blog the past few weeks. This weeks post is again chocolate related but it does date back to Easter Sunday so after my chocolate fast I couldn't help but do a chocolate related desert. I spent Easter in Cheltenham with my sister, Aisling, and her boyfriend, Matt. After having a lovely lunch in a country pub with Matts family we went home to prepare another feast. It is tradition in my family, as I'm sure it is in many other houses, to have spring lamb on Easter Sunday. I requested that this be on the menu Easter Sunday as it was my first Easter away from home. They didn't disappoint. We had the most delicious Spring Lamb with all the trimmings.. Roast potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, cauliflower and leek in cheese sauce, gravy and of course mint sauce. I didn't help out for dinner at all.. but I was in charge of desert. 

Which brings me to my choice of desert as you can tell from the title, Chocolate Fondant Puddings. It was actually suggested to me by my cousin a few weeks ago that I should do this recipe on my blog (if you're reading this Ryan sorry you didn't get to sample- next time!). I researched the recipe and tweaked it to my liking. There were three of us for dinner but this recipe made 4/5 depending on the size of your ramekins. I got five out of it because these ramekins were quite small but looking back I probably could have got 6 out of it. I popped 2 of them in the freezer for Aisling and Matt to have at a later date. Again like my cookie recipe you can just pop these in the freezer and take out whenever you need them. Just be sure to wrap well with cling film. I could not get over how simple these were to make. I always wondered when I got this desert in a restaurant how they got the outside sponge cooked so well but the inside to remain all gooey. Well it all comes down to timing. Just follow my recipe below and you too can have perfect Chocolate Fondant Deserts. 

Ingredients

100g Dark Chocolate
100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
100g Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1 Egg Yolk

Extra butter and cocoa powder to prepare the ramekins.

Method

Place the chocolate, butter and sugar together in a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water. Be sure not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. When melted and well combined take off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

While your mix cools you can prepare your ramekins. Grease the ramekins with butter and then dust with cocoa powder. This will make it easier to remove your puddings from the ramekins to serve.

After your mix has cooled slightly whisk in the eggs. When well combined add the flour. You can add a drop of vanilla extract at this point but this is completely optional. I added a tablespoon of maple syrup to my mix but again this is completely optional.. I just saw it in my sisters cupboard and threw a spoon in for good measure!!

Then divide the mixture equally between the ramekins. If you are preparing these in advance just pop them in the fridge until ready to bake. Ideally they should rest in the fridge for about an hour before baking so ensure you have this time when preparing them. When ready to bake place in the oven at 190C for 13-15 minutes. If cooking from frozen cook for an extra 2-3 minutes. When baked the top of the pudding should have a sponge like texture and springs back to touch.

Once baked remove from the oven and run a butter knife carefully around the edge of the ramekin. What I did was ran the knife along the top of the ramekin and gently pressed into the pudding separating it from the glass. Then you can tip the pudding straight onto a plate or what I did was tip the pudding onto a paper towel in my hand and then placed onto the plate.

These puddings are best served hot so straight to the table with them (or the couch in our case!). Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

I hope you try this recipe. If you do please let me know how it turned out. You can find me on instagram, twitter and now facebook too! Quick disclaimer.. I would like to thank Matt for the use of his camera and photography skills for the pictures on this post. If it was possible I would do all my baking in Cheltenham for pictures like these!

Happy Baking!

O x