Cooking: Moelleux au Chocolate with a Salted Caramel Melting Middle

Cooking time again! Last time I did guilt free so I thought this time I would go all out full on indulgence- with lard on top! A few people commented on my picture of my Moelleux au Chocolate- basically melt in the middle chocolate amazing heaven-ness... So here it is!

Ingredients for your Moelleux au Chocolate with a Salted Caramel Melting Middle.

For the Caramel:

150g Caster Sugar

150ml Double Cream

Teaspoon of Maldon Salt

For the Batter:

85g Unsalted Butter

170g Light Brown Sugar

85g Plain Flour

6 Eggs

200g Dark Chocolate (min 60% cocoa)

Few Tbsp of Cocoa Powder

Pre-heat your oven to 180C

First off, you want to make your Caramel. You could buy a good quality caramel sauce but it isn't the same as making your own I don't think plus it wouldn't be perfectly salted! In a large heavy bottom pan, put in enough of your caster sugar to cover the bottom only. Don't put it all in in one go or it makes the caramel difficult to work with and it can crystallise easily. Then when the outsides start to melt and colour you can add the rest of the sugar. 

SUPER IMPORTANT TIP!!! NEVER STIR MELTING SUGAR!!!

This makes it crystallise in a second and form clumps. To combine it, swirl the pan! 

     

Gently heat the sugar till it reaches 112C and then add the double cream. It will bubble up like crazy and try and attack you a bit so stand right back after you add it. It will bubble up and then you need to combine the cream with the sugar, so after its finished bubbling, add your salt and swirl the crap out of it! Swirl, swirl, swirl and the cream and sugar will become one. Pour your caramel into a jug and pop it into the fridge to chill. Caramel done!

For the batter; mix together your flour (I used a Gluten and Wheat free one but you can use any Plain Flour) and brown sugar. In a separate bowl melt together your butter and sugar. I'd recommend doing this in a bowl suspended over some gently simmering water. I did it straight in the pan on the lowest heat possible but to avoid letting it ever have the chance to burn I'd recommend the water/bowl method.

Once the chocolate is melted, mix in the flour and sugar. Stir them together and you end up with a thick paste. Give it a minute to cool and then, one at a time add your eggs. Keep stirring the mixture so you don't end up with scrambled eggs and you should end up with a luscious glossy batter. 

Maybe before you start; but I am so unorganised and always forget about lining tins and such and end up doing it half way through, you want to grease your ramekins with a good slick of butter and then "flour" them with some cocoa powder. Then top up your pots, I get 6 ramekins worth out of this batter. You only want to fill said ramekins 3/4 full so you have room for a little souffle-ing and the caramel. Leave them to chill in the fridge for an hour or so.

After an hour or so, the ramekins and the caramel come out of the fridge and it's time for the fiddily bit. Not a massive stress so don't have a flap, just a bit of piping..... Your caramel should have firmed a little to the consistency of... Nutella! Yes, it should be Nutella thick now.....

I have one of these squeesy piping tubes for jobs like this but you could easily do it with a regular piping bag or failing one of those, try a thick sandwich bag with a little snip out of the corner. So fill up your piping tool with caramel and squirt a blob of caramel into the center of the pudding. You want it to be under the surface, not on top or you won't get your oozy centre.

When they are baked; which takes 15 minutes in a 180C oven, turn them out onto a plate and just bloody eat! I like mine with a dollop of Creme Fraiche, I think it cuts through the chocolate poy-fectly! I have eaten a lot of puddings in my time....ALOT and I really do have to say that these are my ultimate favourite ever! The best thing is that if your trying to impress; these are pretty damn easy to make, but bloody amazing to anyone who doesn't know how to do them!