Week 26: Little French Fudgecakes

A quick tour of the Cook. Eat. Repeat? archives revealed that we don't make nearly enough desserts around here.

There's not enough dessert.

And, it's been a stressful day. The kind of day where you chuck all your dinner plans and go out for pizza and beer.

The kind of day where you need chocolately goodness.

The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper (p. 312 - 314)
Makes 6 cupcakes (or 8 small cupcakes)

Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Cooling time: 5 - 15 minutes

1 (3.5 or 4 oz) bittersweet chocolate bar, broken up
1.5 oz unsweetened chocolate, broken up
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs + 1 yolk
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 (3.5 or 4 oz) bittersweet chocolate bar, broken up



Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a dark metal cupcake tin.

Combine the broken-up bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates with the butter in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Melt them for 2 to 3 minutes at medium-low power. Check by stirring, as chocolate holds its shape when microwaved.

In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and yolk, sugar, and salt until creamy. Stir in the flour to blend thoroughly. Then stir in the chocolate / butter mixture until smooth. Finally, blend in the bite-sized pieces of chocolate. Pour the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each three-quarters full.

Bake the cupcakes for 18 minutes. Insert a knife into the center of a cupcake. It should come out clean with some streaks of thick batter. If you have any doubt about doneness, press the top of a cupcake to see if it is nearly firm. Remove them from the oven.

Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes to serve warm or 20 minutes to serve at room temperature.

My notes:
I used Lindt Excellence 70% bittersweet chocolate bar and an organic milk chocolate bar (both in the candy aisle of my grocery store). The recipe made a big deal out of what kind of chocolate to use for the recipe, so I thought I should share what my choices were.

I imagined these little lovelies would be gooey in the middle. They weren't. I think I should have adjusted the baking time (reduce by just a few minutes) to adjust for the size of my cupcake tins. Also, the tops got really crispy. This added some great texture, but the crispy tops fell off when I tried to get the little bits of delicious-ness out of the cupcake pan.

I served these with whipping cream flavored with Bailey's. I beat 1 C whipping cream (for about 5 minutes) and added about 1 Tbsp of Bailey's. A fabulous touch, if I do say so myself. It would have been equally fabulous with pistachio or cherry ice cream or gelato.

And, I love that the recipe didn't make many cupcakes. These just aren't something that Brad or I could bring ourselves to sit, uneaten anywhere in our house.