Who can resist a chocolate fondant pudding with its smooth gooey centre?
I have always loved chocolate fondant puddings. I am a lover of chocolate and a lover of puddings, and that kind of dessert is just my kind of dessert. It’s the perfect combination.
The image that usually comes to mind when you think of this type of dessert it’s that of a luscious and indulgent dark chocolate mini cake with a melting middle. Yes, true, that is probably the most known flavour.
However, a few months ago I came across the recipe of a white chocolate fondant and I decided it to give it a go. I realised I had never tried a white chocolate fondant. And gosh, it was good. Nicely set, with a white chocolatey centre that melted both on the plate and on the palate.
Back to study and practicing, I thought. No dark chocolate, that’s ‘boring’ (no, it’s not, but for the purpose of this post, it is), white chocolate be it, let’s play with it. I tested so many recipes, can’t even remember. More butter, less butter, tray or not tray, warm the tray, don’t warm the tray, go bigger in size, no, small. Everyone had their secret to share.
However, I got ‘bored’ again after a while as they all tasted pretty much the same. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t about the cake in itself and not about the recipes (I found some really good ones and I still make them at home sometimes), but I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go with something different. A flavour. Perhaps one that would be more reminiscent of Italy – I mean, what a weird idea, right?
Not much mystery or exciting stories this time. This is how I came up with the idea of a cappuccino fondant.
Now, let’s just be honest – what an unusual flavour, right? I know, I know. But, this cappuccino fondant is a little bit different from all the other recipes you will find online. Not only it tastes like a cappuccino and has double the amount of melted cappuccino filling inside (yep, coffee ganache inside)), but it also looks like a cappuccino. A cappuccino white chocolate fondant with a creamy milk mousse on top. For the complete treat.
Now, one last thing. Fondant or lava or molten cakes are notoriously difficult to make. However, this is not the case if you’re willing to take on the challenge and you’ve got a good recipe to follow. Just make sure to prepare all your ingredients ahead (such as your condensed milk, which must be cold from the fridge) and then follow my step-by-step instructions below and you’ll have the perfect cappuccino fondant ready to impress everyone at your next dinner party.
Note: before you start, I’d definitely recommend you that you try and bake one single cappuccino fondant before you bake all the others. Temperature and baking time are crucial when making fondants and your moulds and oven might heat up and cook the mix differently from mine of those of other people, so you might need to slightly adjust your baking times to get the same result.
Nowadays the term ‘fondant’, ‘lava cake’ or ‘molten chocolate cake’ are pretty much interchangeable. However, there are differences between the recipes. I called this recipe with the name I’ve always known to describe it since I remember having my first bite.
Want to try some other chocolatey desserts? This raspberry and lemon white chocolate mousse tart is the perfect birthday cake. Or surprise your vegan friends and family with these totally gianduia choc pots.
Makes 6 cappuccino fondants
Ingredients
FOR THE MILK MOUSSE
- 200g condensed milk (this must be cold from the fridge)
- 300g double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 25g glucose syrup
- 5g powdered gelatine
- 25g water
FOR THE COFFEE GANACHE MIX
- 50g good quality white chocolate
- 40g double cream
- ¼ tsp instant coffee powder
- 10g Butter at room temperature
FOR THE CAKE MIX
- 150g good quality white chocolate, chopped
- 80g butter
- 120g icing sugar
- 150g eggs (about 3 medium eggs)
- 140g all purpose flour, sifted
- 4g instant coffee powder
- ½ tsp coffee extract (optional)
Method
MAKE THE MILK MOUSSE (at least 3 hours ahead of serving, ideally the day before)
- Refrigerate all tools for at least 15 minutes (metal tools work best in this instance). Pour 25ml water in a small metal or ceramic bowl, sprinkle over the powdered gelatine and leave to re-hydrate for about 10 minutes.
The next step requires a bit of coordination: make sure you have all the ingredients ready. If you don’t have a microwave, prepare a bain-marie to melt the gelatine in the next step. - When the gelatine is hydrated, using a stand mixer or hand mixer start to whip the cream and glucose syrup on low for one minute, then on medium until soft peaks form but still glossy and creamy. Set aside. Meanwhile, melt the gelatine in the microwave for a few seconds, or over the prepared bain-marie, and stir a few times to cool it down a bit. Add it to the cold condensed milk and stir promptly to avoid any lumps.
Start whisking the creamy mix again and pour the milk and gelatine mixture in while it’s whisking at medium speed, being careful to pour slowly enough to allow the milk to incorporate and whip up. When it’s poured, raise the speed to medium-high for a few moments and check the texture of the mousse. It should be quite firm but still nice and airy. If you are happy with the texture, refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight.
MAKE THE COFFEE GANACHE (at least 2 hours ahead of serving, ideally overnight)
- Chop the white chocolate in small bits and place in small deep bowl or cup. Heat the cream on a medium heat and remove from hob just before boiling. Add the instant coffee and give a stir to dissolve. Quickly pour over the white chocolate and cover for a couple of minutes with a lid or a towel to keep the heat in.
- Carefully stir with a spatula and continue folding until all the chocolate has melted and the mix is nice and glossy. Add the butter and fold gently until melted and incorporated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight.
MAKE THE CAKE MIX
Pre-heat the oven at 200°C conventional mode. Butter 6 mini pudding basins (disposable foil ones are good too) and coat with caster sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Pop the white chocolate and the butter in a metal bowl, place over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water) and slowly melt at bain-marie. In the meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs (do not whisk) with the instant coffee and the coffee extract. Set aside.
- When the chocolate and butter are melted, gently stir to fully combine making sure there are no lumps. Pour in a medium size bowl. Using a whisk, fold the icing sugar in the chocolate in two times until fully incorporated. Add the egg and coffee mixture in two times, gently folding with the whisk. The egg yolks will help emulsify and make the mix creamy and shiny. At last, gently fold the sifted flour in two times, making sure no lumps or air pockets are formed. Put the mix in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to lightly set.
- Take the batter out of the fridge and pour in the moulds, stopping at about 5mm from the edge. Take the coffee ganache, scoop out six 2cm-sized balls, flatten them a bit with your fingers and place them on top of the batter in each mould. Don’t press it down. Pour over another spoon of batter into each mould to cover the disc.
- Transfer the moulds onto a metal tray and bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to set in the moulds for 3 more minutes. Delicately, but quickly, run a small knife around the mould to release the fondants. Gently flip and unmould each fondant onto a board. With the help of a palette knife or spatula, flip over each fondant again, so the pudding stands up in the same way it was baked, resembling a coffee cup.
- Take the milk mousse and spread a nice layer (about 2cm thick) over the pudding, dust with some cocoa powder and serve immediately while still warm. The coffee centre will ooze out once you cut through the pudding and the milk mousse will slightly melt too, mixing with the coffee to make a perfect cappuccino sauce.
Chocolate fondants are a simple but delicious dessert. I’m sure yours is also delicious, but far too many ingredients and too complicated
Hi and thanks for your comment! I know sometimes my recipes might seem a bit more complex than others. My motto is “flavour first”, and in this case I believe the coffee chocolate ganache in the middle and the mousse on top add extra richness and take the fondant to a higher level.