Bouchon Bakery has always been one of my most loved bakeries of all times (too bad they only have it in NYC). Seeing I had a 100g pack of 70% dark chocolate from KoKo Black (artisanal chocolate shop in Melbourne) lying around the house and a pack of 100% unsweetened cocoa from Ghiradelli I purchased in my California trip in June, nothing came to my mind more than the urge to make some decadent chocolate bouchons for my relatives visiting from Holland.
These are no ordinary chocolate muffins. The richness and intensity of the dark chocolate, coupled with a brownie-like consistency will literally blow your mind. These chocolate cakes derive their name from their shape, which resembles a cork, or bouchon in French (admittedly, mine don’t resemble the classic bouchon shape as I didn’t have timbale moulds so opted for the regular muffin tin instead). They make for an excellent dessert when paired with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream or can simply be eaten alone as a decadent chocolate treat.
Here is my modified version of Timothy Keller’s luscious chocolate bouchons from the cookbook “Bouchon”.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 12 ounces unsalted butter, melted and still hot
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (either chocolate chips or 70% dark chocolate block bashed into small pieces)
- confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- 8-12 timbale molds, bouchon molds or a muffin pan
METHOD:
1) Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius. Butter and flour timbale moulds or muffin pan. Set aside.
2) Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
3) In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the eggs and sugar on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick and very pale in colour. Mix in the vanilla. On low speed, add about one-third of the dry ingredients, then one-third of the butter, and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and mix to combine.
4) Spoon the batter into the moulds or muffin tin. Place in the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes (reduce the time to 20 minutes if using regular muffin tin). When the tops look shiny and set (like a brownie), test one cake with a wooden skewer or toothpick: It should come out clean but not dry (there may be some melted chocolate from the chopped chocolate). Transfer the bouchons to a cooling rack. After a couple of minutes, invert the timbale moulds and let the bouchons cool upside down in the moulds; then lift off the moulds.
5) The bouchons are best eaten the day they are baked. To serve, invert the bouchons and dust them with confectioners’ sugar.
