VALENTINE’S DAY RECIPES
CHOCOLATE FONDANT WITH
WINE SOAKED STRAWBERRIES
INGREDIENTS
120g dark chocolate (at least 70% dark)
110g butter, room temperature
150g castor sugar
3 eggs, separate the egg yolks
100g plain flour
25g melted butter, for brushing pudding moulds
cocoa powder, for dusting the moulds
icing sugar, for dusting the finished fondants
FOR STRAWBERRIES
1 cup red wine (Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 small lemon, halved
200g fresh strawberries
Prepare strawberries the morning of. Mix red wine and lemon juice in a bowl
and let strawberries steep for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Drain and place
strawberries in the freezer. Remove them 20 – 30 minutes before serving
fondant, so that they have thawed slightly and are easy to eat.
You can prepare the fondant batter the night before. You will need 4 pudding
moulds. Preheat oven to 180°C and start by brushing the moulds with melted
butter. Then, coat the moulds with cocoa powder and shake out excess powder. Set aside.
Pour water into a pan and heat to a simmer. Place a bowl above the pan and
melt the butter and dark chocolate in the bowl. Remove from heat, allow 5– 8
minutes of cooling.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar. Sift the flour into this mixture
whilst still whisking, whisk until smooth. Finally, add the melted chocolate
slowly whilst still beating the entire mixture. Once smooth, pour batter into a
jug.
Separate batter into each of the 4 moulds. Fill to two thirds of each mould.
At this point you can refrigerate overnight. Otherwise, chill for at least 20
minutes.
Place fondant moulds on a baking tray and leave in oven for 10 – 12 minutes.
Make sure the top is crusted and it seems as though the fondants are coming
away from the moulds at the top.
Remove from oven and allow to sit for 2 minutes. To remove fondants from
their moulds, take a knife and gently slip it between the fondant and the
mould, go around the cup slowly and carefully.
To check if the fondants are ready to come out, tip the mould and see if
the fondant slides out slightly. When ready to serve, tip the fondant mould
upside down onto the plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve with chilled,
wine-soaked strawberries or fresh strawberries if you prefer.
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