Fondant au Chocolat
Ingredients
- 200 g dark baking chocolate (54-66%)
- 200 g salted or unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp salted caramel sauce (optional)
- 5 large eggs at room temperature (250 g without shells)
- 100 g brown cane sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 20 g all-purpose flour
Michel Bras claims the individual coulant in 1981, but the shared fondant baked in a single tin is the version French home cooks actually make: 200 g of chocolate against 200 g of butter and only 20 g of flour, so there is almost nothing holding it together but fat and egg. The eggs are whipped with sugar until pale and doubled before the chocolate goes in, which is what gives the thin crackled crust on top. Five minutes in a very hot oven sets that crust, then a long slow bake at 120°C keeps the middle dense and fudgy rather than dry.
Method
Heat the oven to 210°C (410°F) and line a 20 cm springform pan.
Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler until smooth, and stir in the caramel sauce if using.
Whip the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until pale and doubled in volume.
Fold the chocolate mixture gently into the eggs.
Add the flour and mix just until combined, then pour into the pan.
Bake 5 minutes at 210°C, then lower the oven to 120°C (248°F) and bake 30 minutes more.
Cool completely in the pan and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before unmoulding.
