Chocolate Fondant Cake

How to make the best and perfect homemade chocolate fondant cake recipe with an ultra-fudgy and molten center. This recipe is absolutely delicious made with brown sugar which gives it a delicious flavor and salted caramel sauce for an incredible taste.

Craving for more Chocolate recipes? Give these a try: Chocolate birthday cake, triple chocolate brownies, Chocolate ganache cheesecake, Whipped Chocolate ganache and Chocolate cake pops.

The chocolate fondant cake is a classic French recipe of chocolate cake (moelleux au chocolat) with an ultra-melting and very chocolatey texture. But this recipe is one of the many variations also called " Fondant Baulois " which comes from the Atlantic Loire region in France.

This chocolate cake is a recipe that we love to make again and again because it is so simple and quick to make for any last-minute occasion.

This chocolate fondant recipe is very similar to my flourless chocolate cake recipe, with its crunchy meringue crust and ultra-creamy texture that is close to a molten chocolate lava cake.

Why we love this recipe

The particularity of this recipe is that it is made with dark chocolate and without cocoa powder to which we add in addition brown cane sugar in combination with salted caramel which gives it this irresistible caramelized flavor and taste.

Baking at a very gentle temperature gives this chocolate fondant recipe an incredibly melt-in-your-mouth, half-baked, creamy texture and if you have time to let it sit overnight in the fridge it is even better the next day.

This chocolate cake makes the happiness of all chocolate lovers enjoy with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you will have a perfectly decadent dessert to treat your family.

Ingredients and substitutions

Here are the ingredients used to make the recipe of the French fondant and the possible substitution. All the quantities and instructions are indicated in the recipe card that you can also print.

• Chocolate: Use good quality dark chocolate, baking chocolate semi-sweet at 54% or 66% dark chocolate for a fuller taste. (the recipe can also be made with a mixture of ⅔ dark chocolate and ⅓ milk chocolate)
• Butter: Use salted butter preferably or unsalted butter, in this case, add 1-2 pinches of fleur de sel more in the recipe.
• Salted caramel: warm up your caramel a bit before starting the recipe to give it a more liquid texture. (you can also make the recipe without the caramel)
• Eggs: eggs at room temperature (you can run them under hot water for a few moments to bring them back to the right temperature).
• Cane sugar: You can replace it with white granulated sugar or another brown sugar or even coconut sugar.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour, plain flour, or cornstarch for a gluten-free chocolate cake.

Optional:

• You can use icing sugar or cocoa powder to decorate the chocolate cake before serving.
• Chocolate: Add chocolate chips or chocolate chunks for an even more fudgy texture.

Materials: Preferably use an 8 inch / 20 cm springform pan or a removable bottom pan to unmold the cake easily. Use an electric whisk or a stand mixer to make the mixtures.

Find the quantities and instructions for the French chocolate fondant in the recipe card below.

How to Make Chocolate Fondant Cake

Melt the chocolate

1. Place the chopped dark chocolate in a bowl with the cubed butter pieces.
2. Heat in a double boiler or in the microwave until the melted chocolate mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
3. Add the salted caramel and mix with a spatula or whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Add the eggs and sugar

1. In a large bowl, place the brown sugar with the eggs and vanilla extract.
2. Mix with an electric mixer or in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment for about 3 minutes on medium speed until the mixture doubles in volume and turns white.

Tip: This step with the electric mixer is important to get that thin crunchy layer on the surface of the chocolate fondant cake.

Stir in the chocolate mixture

1. Add the melted butter and chocolate mixture to the cake batter.
2. Mix gently with a spatula to incorporate.
3. Add flour and mix gently with a spatula until the mixture is smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate fondant batter into a springform cake lined with parchment paper.

Tip: Preferably use a springform pan or a cake pan with a removable bottom to unmold the cake more easily. You can also bake in muffin tins for small chocolate fondants.

Baking

1. Preheat the oven to 410°F / 210°C.
2. Bake the chocolate fondant for 5 minutes then lower the temperature to 248°F / 120°C and bake for another 30 minutes.
3. The chocolate fondant cake is ready when it has a crust on top and when the cake is still soft in the center.
4. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature in its mold.
5. Then place it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, before gently removing it from the pan.
6. Place the chocolate fondant on a large plate or serving dish and sprinkle with cocoa powder or powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Tip: Do not attempt to unmold the cake after removing it from the oven, place it in the refrigerator in its mold and unmold it after the minimum time of resting in the cold.

What to serve this cake

The chocolate fondant is a cake with an ultra-melting texture and is very rich in chocolate that will delight all chocolate lovers. It has a very creamy texture in the mouth and is perfect with light vanilla cream.

For more indulgence, serve on a plate with :

• Ice cream
• Homemade whipped cream
• Mascarpone whipped cream
• Red fruits, raspberries sauce
• Fresh fruits

5 Tips for this recipe

1. Ingredients at room temperature.
2. Use an electric mixer to mix the eggs until doubled in volume.
3. Mix gently with a rubber spatula to incorporate melted chocolate and dry ingredients.
4. Bake in a springform pan lined with baking paper as the cake is still fragile and for easy removal from the pan.
5. Let cool overnight in the fridge, it will be easier to unmold and will be better in texture and taste.

Storage and freezing

In the fridge: Store your cake under plastic wrap preferably in the fridge rather than at room temperature for 4-5 days.

In the freezer: You can also keep it for up to 3 months in the freezer in a storage box with a lid.

Defrost: Let it thaw gently in the refrigerator.

More chocolate dessert recipes

• Chocolate chip brownies
• Chocolate strawberry cake
• Chocolate naked cake
• Chocolate bundt cake with runny icing

More cake recipes

• Strawberry coffee cake
• French soft apple cake
• Almond coffee cake
• Cookie butter biscoff cake

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