Cheat's Chocolate Fondant

I'm going to be honest with you here. This chocolate fondant very nearly broke me. The first night I made it, it stuck to the ramekin and fell apart....it was delicious, but it was a mess. The second night, it held together, but an awful lot of the inside seemed to ooze out and I felt it was slightly under-cooked. The third night, it held together, but upon digging into it, there was no oozing what so ever....it was over-cooked. Honest to goodness, this damn thing was so delicious, but driving me crazy at the same time!!

Mr B was completely oblivious to this. Each night I sat on the couch with my head in my hands trying to figure out how I had managed to bugger it up yet AGAIN, but each time Mr B sat there happily devouring the bowl placed in front of him. On the 3rd night when I was just about in fondant induced tears, Mr B piped up and told me that version no. 2 was his favourite and he thought I had nailed that one. Looking up between my hands from where I was curled up in the foetal position, I said "Really?" and Mr B went on to explain the ins and outs of fondants and why version no. 2 got his vote and why in his opinion, version no. 2 was what a fondant was supposed to be like. I mean it WAS a light chocolate mousse like pudding with a gooey oozey chocolate centre and it WAS down right delicious and fancy looking. So I decided to put some faith in Mr B's vast knowledge and experience with chocolate puddings and considered the recipe successful.

Here is how it's done....

To make 1 pudding you will need:

50g milk chocolate
50g butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbspn caster sugar
1/2 tbspn plain flour
1 tbspn cocoa
1 milk chocolate Lindt ball.

Pre-heat oven to 180C and brush a 1 cup capacity ramekin with melted butter. Line the base of the ramekin with baking paper.

Place the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe jug and heat on high for 40 seconds. Give the mixture a good stir until it is melted and smooth.

Use an electric mixer to beat the egg, egg yolk and sugar until thick, pale and creamy. Add the melted chocolate, flour and cocoa and beat until just smooth.

Spoon 2/3 of the mixture into your prepared ramekin. Place the Lindt ball in the centre of the mixture. Top with remaining mixture, ensuring Lindt ball is covered.

Bake for 15-20 mins or until just set. Allow the puddings to cool for 5-10 mins before inverting onto serving plates.

Serve with cream and enjoy!

Mrs B xx