Chocolate Fondant

Chocolate fondant, chocolate lava cake, whatever you call them, they're amazing! A gooey chocolate dessert that you can prepare ahead of time and perfect for guests, or for a weekend treat. I used a recipe from BBC Good Food, although slightly adapted it. The cooking time is a bit difficult to get right - Mary Berry wouldn't approve of mine! They aren't gooey enough like typical chocolate fondants, but you might decide you prefer them a little less gooey like we did!

Recipe (makes 4 ramekins)

• 25g melted butter, for brushing
• cocoa powder, for dusting
• 100g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 100g butter, in small pieces
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100g plain flour 

 Firstly, grease your ramekins with some butter and put in the fridge for 5 minutes to chill. Take them out and grease again (you don't want them to stick!). Put in a tablespoon of cocoa and swirl the ramekin around until the cocoa coats it entirely. I tip the leftover cocoa into the next ramekin, and so on. 

  
Melt the butter and chocolate together. I did this in the microwave, but you can do this in a saucepan too. Make sure you keep an eye on it in the microwave, and stir at regular intervals otherwise it will burn.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together with the sugar until thick and pale. I used an electric whisk to make life easier! Then fold in the flour. 

When the flour is folded in completely, stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Pour into the ramekins. 

 Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. You could even make them the night before and chill overnight until you need to bake them. To bake, preheat oven to 180 degrees and cook for 10-12 minutes. The tops should be baked and they will be coming away from the sides of the ramekins. You may need to give them a bit longer, just make sure to keep an eye on them. When they come out of the oven, put a knife around the outside to ease them out, and then tip out onto a plate. 

Liddie x