Sometimes, you just need a chocolate fix for you, and you alone. This Chocolate Fondant (otherwise known as Chocolate Lava Cake), it seems to me, is the perfect remedy for such occasions. It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish and at the end of it, you have a glorious combination of spongey chocolate cake and flowing chocolate batter, with a good dollop of cream on the side. Whoever dreamed this pudding up ought to get a medal.
I was on a mission in terms of creating a Chocolate Fondant for one and made three failed attempts before I eventually got the measurements right. In terms of timing, it’s definitely a case of practice – if you don’t leave it long enough, the sides of the pudding will collapse when you invert it; if you leave it too long, it won’t be molten in the middle. It’s done when the surface feels just set but when gently pushed you can definitely feel wet batter beneath. When you take it out of the oven, you’ll think it’s too wet, but even in the minute that you let it sit and then plate it, it will continue to cook, so bear that in mind.
In the photo above, you’ll see I got impatient and took it out about a minute early so it’s a little more lava than cake; but actually I rather like it this way!! However, I made it a few months later and cooked it just over a minute longer to show how you can get a more fudgy version (see image at the bottom of the post), which might suit you better. Anyway, I encourage you to have a go and if at first you don’t succeed; try, try again!
CHOCOLATE FONDANT (or Chocolate Lava Cake)
Ingredients
- 30 g butter
- 30 g semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 30 g icing sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder and cream to serve
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C (400°F) and put a baking tray on the middle shelf.
- Grease 1 small ramekin with butter (or spray with non-stick spray).
- Place butter and baking chocolate into a large microwave-safe bowl then microwave for 1 minute, or until butter is melted, then stir until butter and chocolate are smooth. Alternatively, you can do this in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water on the stove-top.
- Whisk the egg, along with the icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour in the melted chocolate and butter (a little bit to start with in order to temper the egg mixture). Add the flour then stir until combined.
- Pour chocolate batter into the ramekin. At this point the batter can be refrigerated until needed, but let it come to room temperature before baking.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the top is is set, but when lightly touched you can feel there’s wet batter beneath the surface. Take the cake out of the oven immediately and let it cool for a minute (but not too long, as it continues to cook the longer it sits), then run a small sharp knife around the ramekin and carefully invert onto a serving plate. If you’re not sure the pudding is going to survive being inverted, you can always eat it directly from the ramekin!
- Dust with cocoa powder then serve hot with fresh cream.
That looks absolutely delicious! I’m always looking for simple chocolate treats for one!
Totally! We deserve our special treats!
This is my favorite kind of dessert! Your version looks like absolute perfection. I seriously just went to my pantry to check if I had chocolate, but unfortunately I don’t! I can’t wait to make this.
Oh, I always have chocolate in the pantry! A staple!!
If only my oven worked…
Haha.. yeah, mine didn’t for years either.. my world opened up when I got a new (old) oven!
A huge upsurge of views of this post through Facebook – if anyone reads this,I’d love to know on what page it’s being shown!
It’s on Food Porn.
Thanks Ann – what a hoot!
tried it, it is just delllllllicious!!!!
Yay!! Great to hear!
This is just the recipe I’ve been looking for – I’m going to give it a try today, thank you! 🙂
Great! Hope it goes well for you!
Turned out absolutely perfect!! Been looking for a good recipe for fondant cake for a while and this just hits the mark and in just 15 mins:) THANK YOU!!
Yay! So glad to hear, and thanks for letting me know Dalia.
Just making this for the second time, it’s lovely!
Yay! Thanks for letting me know Mira!
Can I have the exact size of the ramekin please? Not sure how big a ‘small’ ramekin is. Looks beautiful by the way, I’d love to try it out 🙂
Hi there. You’ll want a ramekin that can hold a half cup of mixture. Hope you enjoy it!