Elisabeth M Prueitt and Chad Robertson’s chocolate friands
You can use a pastry bag or a tiny ice-cream scoop for filling the paper cups or wells, in place of the measuring cup.
Makes 24 mini cakes
For the batter
bittersweet chocolate 170g coarsely chopped
unsalted butter225g
sugar 310g
plain flour 105g
cornflour 2 tbsp
salt ¼ tsp
eggs 4, large
For the ganache
bittersweet chocolate115g, finely chopped
double cream150ml
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Line up 24 mini-muffin-cup paper liners on a baking sheet, or butter and flour 24 mini-muffin-tin wells, knocking out the excess flour.
To make the batter, place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until very hot. Pour the butter over the chocolate and whisk or stir until smooth.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix well. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in 3 batches, whisking well after each addition. Add 2 of the eggs and whisk until combined, and then add the remaining 2 eggs and whisk just until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
Transfer the batter to a measuring cup for pouring, and fill the cups three-fourths full. Bake until the cakes just start to crack on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then unmould them if you have baked them in the muffin tins, and let cool completely. If you have baked them in the cups, just let them cool in the cups.
To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to just under a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for a minute or two. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Make sure the friands are cool before dipping them into the ganache. Holding each friand by its sides, dip the top into the ganache and then shake gently to let the excess run off the side. Return the friand to the rack and let the ganache set up in a cool place for about 1 hour.
I don’t recommend putting the friands in the refrigerator to set up if your kitchen is hot because condensation will form on the tops when you take them out, ruining the smooth look of the ganache. The only way to avoid the condensation is to place them in an airtight container before putting them in the refrigerator and then leave them in the container when you remove them from the refrigerator until they come to room temperature, or to serve them right away. Serve the friands within a day of making, or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
From Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson (Chronicle Books, RRP £24). Click here to order a copy for £19.20 from Guardian Bookshop
Rory O’Connell’s chocolate cherry bread and butter pudding
Find the best white bread for this pudding. Fresh, fat, dark and ripe cherries such as the Bing variety are needed. Best-quality chocolate, 62% cocoa solids, yields a result that is neither too sweet nor too bitter.
Serves 8–10
cherries 200g, weighed after removing the stones
brandy 2 tbsp
butter 55g, at room temperature
good-quality sliced white bread 12 slices, crusts removed
chocolate 175g, chopped into 1cm pieces
caster sugar 175g
eggs 4 large, beaten
regular or double cream 450ml
full-fat milk 230ml
vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
To serve
icing sugar a dusting
softly whipped cream
A square or rectangular dish, ceramic or pottery, can be used for assembling and cooking the pudding. It should be about 6cm deep with sides of about 20–22cm.
First, put the stoned cherries into a bowl. Add the brandy and set aside to macerate while you prepare the bread. When ready to make the pudding, drain the cherries, reserving the brandy.
Butter the bread and arrange 4 slices, buttered side down, in one layer in your baking dish. Sprinkle half the chocolate and half the cherries in an even layer over the bread. Arrange another layer of bread, buttered side down, on top. Add the rest of the chocolate and cherries and place the final layer of bread on top, buttered side down.
Put the sugar, eggs, cream, milk and vanilla into a bowl and add the reserved brandy. Whisk together and pour over the dish. Allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Place the pudding in a roasting tin and pour in boiling water to come half way up the sides of the dish. Cook in the oven for 1 hour, or until it is set and the top is golden and crisp.
The cooked pudding will sit happily and stay warm for an hour or so in the oven, still in the roasting tin with the heat turned off, though do remember it is really much nicer when served warm. Dust the pudding with icing sugar and serve on warm plates with softly whipped cream.
From Master It: How to Cook Today by Rory O’Connell (Fourth Estate, RRP £25). Click here to order a copy for £20 from Guardian Bookshop
Florence Knight’s pear and chocolate upside down cake
Serves 8
under-ripe pears 5
dark chocolate 180g
butter 250g
eggs 6
sugar 175g
ground almonds 100g
Poire William liqueur 2 tbsp
Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 5 and grease and line a 23cm round deep cake tin.
Peel, core and cut the pears into eighths. Arrange them core-side down in a fanned circle at the bottom of the tin.
Put a pan on the heat with a little water in it and set a heatproof bowl over it. Break up the chocolate and melt together with the butter in the bowl.
While they’re melting, beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Stir in the melted chocolate then carefully fold in the ground almonds.
Tip the batter into the tin and bake for 45–50 minutes. Use a skewer to test the centre to check that it is baked through.
As soon as it comes out of the oven, pour the Poire William all over the top and leave to cool in the tin.
From One: A Cook and Her Cupboard by Florence Knight (Saltyard, RRP £26). Click here to order a copy for £20.80 from Guardian Bookshop
Elizabeth David’s Saint Emilion au chocolat
Enough for 4-6 people
butter 125g
sugar 125g
milk 1 teacup
egg 1
chocolate 250g
macaroons 12–16
rum or brandy a little
Cream the butter and the sugar until they are well amalgamated. Scald the milk and let it cool, then mix it with the yolk of the egg.
Melt the chocolate over the fire, with a very little water, then stir in the milk and egg mixture, then the butter and sugar. Stir this cream carefully until it is absolutely smooth.
In a souffle dish arrange a layer of macaroons, soaked in a little rum or brandy; over these pour a layer of the chocolate cream, then put another layer of macaroons and so on until the dish is full, finishing with macaroons. Leave the dish in a cold place for at least 12 hours.
From French Country Cooking by Elizabeth David (Penguin, RRP £9.99). Click here to order a copy for £7.99 from Guardian Bookshop
Fanny Zanotti’s favourite chocolate mousse
Serves 4
70% dark chocolate 75g
40% milk chocolate 25g
whipping cream 150g
caster (superfine) sugar 25g
water 25g
egg yolks 2
Ten minutes before you start, place a bowl and the whisk in the freezer to chill. Cream definitely whips faster and in a more stable way if everything around it is super-cold.
Melt both chocolates in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. In the meantime, whip the cream until it just starts to get to the soft peak stage and set aside in the fridge.
Once the chocolate is melted, keep it warm over the pan of hot water off the heat while you make a sabayon. Bring the sugar and water to the boil in a small pan. Quickly whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl using either an electric beater or a stand-mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Pour the piping-hot syrup over them a little at a time, whisking constantly. Once all the syrup is incorporated, whisk for 3–4 minutes, or until thick and holding soft peaks.
Now that all the elements are ready, use a balloon whisk to mix half the whipped cream into the melted chocolate until smooth and shiny. Still using the whisk, fold in the remaining cream. When the white streaks just start to disappear, add the sabayon and incorporate gently, starting from the centre of the bowl and going up the side, turning the bowl clockwise as you do so.
At this point, the mousse should look almost even in colour. Switch to a spatula and give it a few more stirs. Divide between 4 small bowls or martini glasses and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
From Paris Pastry Club by Fanny Zanotti (Hardie Grant, RRP £20.00). Click here to order a copy for £16 from Guardian Bookshop
