Hot chocolate fondants with crème Chantilly

by Paul Warburton on 12 March 2010  |  3 comments
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Check out this amazing recipe for hot chocolate fondants with crème Chantilly – for £1.36 per person!

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Hot chocolate fondants with crème Chantilly (Serves 4)

This is a special moment for my blog. This is the first dessert recipe I’ve written and this goes out to all the mothers out there.

There has been some hectic debate in the office this week as to what the best dessert actually is. We’ve had cheesecake, banoffee pie, and even a rogue viennetta flung round our sweet debating circle.

I feel a great dessert is all about simplicity and letting the ingredients do the talking – on the basis you cannot beat a hot chocolate fondant (use at least 70% cocoa chocolate). Make this for your mother this weekend - Happy Mother’s Day mum! 

Ingredients

• 250g of Tesco unsalted English butter (98p) – we’re using 150g
• 6 farm pride free range eggs (£1.42) – we’re using 3 egg yolks and 3 whole eggs
• 200g of Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate (£2.50) – we’re using 170g
• 150ml of Tesco double cream (56p)

The cupboard staples...

Caster sugar (90g), plain flour (25g), vanilla extract (1/2 a teaspoon) and icing sugar (3 teaspoons).

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco where it came to £5.46 - that's £1.36 per head!

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C first. You need it to be at the exact temperature when cooking. Now brush 4 ramekins or pudding basins (think individual summer puddings size) well with butter and set to one side.
• Next up, put the butter, chopped chocolate, and sugar in a bowl over a simmering pan of water and melt gently - make sure the ingredients are nicely combined.
• Once melted, remove from the heat (let the mixture cool a little) and whisk in the egg yolks and whole eggs. Keep mixing and give them a good beating – you want a light mixture. Then fold in the flour (fold the flour so you keep air in the mixture).
• Now pour the mixture into your ramekins and chill in a fridge for 20 minutes. You’ll get better results if cooking the mixture from a chilled state. While the mixture is chilling you can make the crème Chantilly.
• Whisk the cream until stiff, then add ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract (not essence, or the seeds from a fresh vanilla pod are even better) and 3 teaspoons of icing sugar. Give it another whisk and keep chilled until ready to serve.
• Once chilled, put in the oven for 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 2 minutes. Once they’ve rested you can turn out (fingers crossed) on to plates and serve with a spoonful of the crème Chantilly.
• Happy eating!

A bit about the Frugal Recipes chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Friday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

“Paul's recipes are excellent. The pork stroganoff has been his best so far, it competes well against beef, but is far more economical. I cannot wait to try the latest - braised oxtail and autumn mash.” John Edmunds

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other Frugal Recipes: Shin of beef, kidney and ale pie Tandoori chicken with coconut rice & mint raita | Homemade gnocchi with a tomato & thyme sauce, spinach and ricotta  | Frugal Pancakes | Griddled black pudding, chimichurri mash and caramelised apples  | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice  | Lamb koftas with a feta, mint and chickpea salad & chilli grilled pittas  | Pork, rosemary and white bean ravioli with a chilli tomato sauce  | Sausage & leek casserole with parsley dumpings | Pork, chorizo & cannellini bean stew | Rabbit, bacon & thyme pie | Potato rosti with creamed spinach and poached egg | Pumpkin and sage risotto | Slow braised oxtail with autumn mash | Spiced whole mackerel with chickpea salad | Twice cooked belly pork (with gravy) parsnips and sweet apple red cabbage | Roasted pheasant | Portobello mushroom, port and stilton wellington | Lemon tart with fresh vanilla mascarpone | Massaman curry |  Smoked mackerel pate on crostini and red onion confit  |Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage | Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs |  Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt |  Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne |  Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lancashire) hotpot

Remember, if you're registered on lovemoney.com, you can follow this blog and find new posts as soon as they are published, via your personal homepage. Never miss a frugal recipe again - register now.