Master A French Classic – Moelleux au Chocolat

I’m not much of sweet tooth – I actually prefer cheese over dessert. But the desserts I do like, I really like, if you know what I mean.

One of the desserts that I always struggle to say ‘no’ to is Moelleux au Chocolat.

Sometimes called Chocolat Fondant, this rich, oozing, chocolate concoction is a joy to behold. Cake-like on the outside, but filled with molten chocolate it really is a special treat.

Given how good this dessert is, I spent years thinking Moelleux au Chocolat was beyond the skills of your average home cook. But our recent trip to France inspired me to explore this idea a little further and I soon found out that this French classic is as easy to prepare as it is yummy!

Here’s my recipe for Chocolat au Moelleux for you to try. It serves four diners – but is easily scaled up to serve more. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• 100 grams dark cooking chocolate (I prefer Valrhona if I can get it)
• 110 grams butter
• 100 grams castor sugar
• 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks (you need 4 eggs in total)
• 40 grams pastry flour
• 10 grams cocoa powder (again, Valrhona if you have it)

Method:

• Melt butter and chocolate over very low heat. Take care here to keep the heat low and to stir regularly so your chocolate doesn’t seize.
• While the chocolate mix is melting, beat whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow and airy.
• Sift flour and cocoa powder into the egg and sugar mixture. Stir to combine.
• By now your chocolate mix should be smooth and shiny – stir the chocolate and the butter through the cake batter.

At this stage, you can cover the mix and leave it in the fridge until you are ready to bake and serve the Moelleux. This is not a dessert you can cook in advance.

When you are ready to serve the Moelleux au Chocolat, preheat your oven to 210 degrees celsius.

Then share the chocolate mix between 4 ramekins or moulds. If you prefer to turn your Moelleux out, grease the ramekins. Personally, I prefer to serve them in the ramekins so I don’t bother to grease them. Pop the ramekins into the oven for around 12 minutes until the tops are firm but the centres are still liquid.

Then serve hot and gooey with good cream or ice cream.

Until next time – au revoir.

P.S. In the interests of transparency, I should point out that today’s photo of a Moelleux au Chocolat is not actually one I cooked…we decided the plating skills of the team at Polperro Wines on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula gave you a much better idea of why you should try a Moelleux au Chocolat than any plating I could do!