Foolproof chocolate & coffee fondants

• butter↗175g g

  plus extra melted butter for greasing

• cocoa powder↗

  for dusting

• good-quality dark chocolate↗175g g

  (we used 70%)

• golden caster sugar↗200g g
• eggs↗4
• good-quality black coffee50ml ml

  (we used espresso coffee)

• plain flour↗85g g
• vanilla ice cream

  to serve

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Use a pastry brush to grease 6 dariole moulds or individual pudding basins really well and place in the fridge for the butter to set. Then grease again, dust with cocoa powder and set aside.

2. 2

   Melt the butter and chocolate together over a pan of barely simmering water, then remove. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy. Fold the chocolate and beaten egg together, then add the coffee and finally fold through the flour.

3. 3

   Divide the mixture between the darioles. The puddings can now be frozen or chilled. Place on a baking tray and bake for exactly 12 mins until the mixture has puffed up and formed a crust but still has a slight wobble to it. Turn the puddings out onto serving plates and serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream for a great contrast of hot and cold.