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cimorene*My wife is not really a dessert chef, it's just her hobby. She likes to watch French dessert chefs on YouTube.
For years one of our most frequently patronized restaurants was a Finnish chain of French provincial cuisine called Fransmanni and we got this cake every time we ate there. It's a miniature chocolate cake, approximately ramekin-sized, that would come upside down on the plate with a little scoop of vanilla icecream, and while the outside was cakey the inside was still liquid.
I was lying around yesterday, suffering through period cramps after taking my painkillers, and lamenting that I didn't buy any more peanut m&m's so I didn't have emergency chocolate, and saying for the millionth time that I wished I could have the miniature chocolate cake from Fransmanni, and it might not even be too hard to make, but I didn't even know what it was called... only thenwaxjism said she thought it was called gateau fondant.
Actually it turns out that it might not be called that because apparently people use this term for miniature cakes that are not liquid in the center? But people still call it that enough to bring the information up with those search terms. The Wikipedia entry about it in English is called "Molten chocolate cake" and gives the same origin stories as the French recipe blog we used, and here's what she said about it:
I got out the ingredients in a spurt of enthusiasm, but thenwaxjism jumped up and took over with her dessert chef skills! We only realized after the batter was done that it was a lot of batter and we don't have ramekins. Muffin tray was the only option, and there was some concern that it might not all fit in one mufffin tray, but it did: it made eleven muffin-size cakes out of a tray of twelve.
Then the muffin tray went in the fridge and we confronted the fact that we have only ever eaten one of these cakes at a time before (albeit slightly larger ones than the ones produced by the muffin tray), and that they are meant to be eaten straight out of the oven. They are so tiny that they bake in about ten minutes though, sowaxjism came up with sliding the filled muffin cups on little bits of cardboard into small ziploc bags and freezing them. So we ate two each yesterday and baked two more today.
I had to take pictures even though they look almost comically unprepossessing. We were not inclined to break out fresh berries or whipped cream to plate it with though, so it is what it is. Trust me, it's incredible! Even though they are a little less cooked than the ideal amount here: the solid shell is a bit thinner than it was yesterday (they weren't room temperature yet when we put them in the oven.)
For years one of our most frequently patronized restaurants was a Finnish chain of French provincial cuisine called Fransmanni and we got this cake every time we ate there. It's a miniature chocolate cake, approximately ramekin-sized, that would come upside down on the plate with a little scoop of vanilla icecream, and while the outside was cakey the inside was still liquid.
I was lying around yesterday, suffering through period cramps after taking my painkillers, and lamenting that I didn't buy any more peanut m&m's so I didn't have emergency chocolate, and saying for the millionth time that I wished I could have the miniature chocolate cake from Fransmanni, and it might not even be too hard to make, but I didn't even know what it was called... only then
waxjism said she thought it was called gateau fondant. Actually it turns out that it might not be called that because apparently people use this term for miniature cakes that are not liquid in the center? But people still call it that enough to bring the information up with those search terms. The Wikipedia entry about it in English is called "Molten chocolate cake" and gives the same origin stories as the French recipe blog we used, and here's what she said about it:
[C]hocolate fondant (or should I say molten cake? lava cake?) is really something the French bake very often at home and that became a great classic of French restaurants, form small bistrots to more fancy restaurants. It’s super quick and easy, only 5 ingredients.
Molten Chocolate Fondant - Zest of France
I got out the ingredients in a spurt of enthusiasm, but then
waxjism jumped up and took over with her dessert chef skills! We only realized after the batter was done that it was a lot of batter and we don't have ramekins. Muffin tray was the only option, and there was some concern that it might not all fit in one mufffin tray, but it did: it made eleven muffin-size cakes out of a tray of twelve. Then the muffin tray went in the fridge and we confronted the fact that we have only ever eaten one of these cakes at a time before (albeit slightly larger ones than the ones produced by the muffin tray), and that they are meant to be eaten straight out of the oven. They are so tiny that they bake in about ten minutes though, so
waxjism came up with sliding the filled muffin cups on little bits of cardboard into small ziploc bags and freezing them. So we ate two each yesterday and baked two more today. 
I had to take pictures even though they look almost comically unprepossessing. We were not inclined to break out fresh berries or whipped cream to plate it with though, so it is what it is. Trust me, it's incredible! Even though they are a little less cooked than the ideal amount here: the solid shell is a bit thinner than it was yesterday (they weren't room temperature yet when we put them in the oven.)
(no subject)
Date: 12 May 2025 09:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12 May 2025 10:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13 May 2025 02:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13 May 2025 06:03 am (UTC)Weirdly enough the only place I have had these is from Dominos lol. I don't know why they started offering them but it's on the dessert menu and you can get a two pack with your pizza.
(no subject)
Date: 13 May 2025 02:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13 May 2025 04:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13 May 2025 09:04 am (UTC)