How to Make Stuart's Hot Chocolate Fondant

Have you ever wondered what else you can make using jam jars? Well other than the obvious! In previous blogs we've shown you how to make candles in jars, use them for home storage, turning jars in to amazing salad lunch boxes and now we have a new awesome recipe for you. A chocolate fondant!

In this blog Stuart teaches us how to make his Hot Chocolate Fondants which go perfectly in our 125ml Round Jars.

To view our full range of glass jars head over to our online store.

How good do these fondants look in jars?

Ingredients

Italian Meringue Ingredients

• 350g Caster Sugar

• 100ml Cold Water

• 6 Egg whites

Fondant Ingredients

• 1 x Italian Meringue mixture

• 150g Softened Unsalted Butter plus extra for greasing

• 175g 70% dark chocolate broken in to pieces

• 175g milk chocolate broken in to pieces

• 40g plain flour

• 25g cocoa powder

• 3 teaspoons of instant coffee granules dissolved into hot water

• 6 egg yolks

Equipment

• 20 x 125ml round jars (don't worry, you can freeze these and cook them later!)

• Mixing bowl x 3

• Heat proof bowl

• Pan

• Sieve

• Electric hand or stand whisk

• Heavy based saucepan

An electric stand mixer will help when making the Meringue

Method

Step 1: Make the Italian Meringue

1. Put the sugar and water in to your heavy based saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Once dissolved boil the syrup until the soft ball stage or it reaches 116°C. This usually takes about 5 minutes.

3. In a large mixing bowl whisk the egg whites in to soft peaks.

4. Let the sugar reach the hard ball stage or 121°C . Which usually takes a couple of minutes. And remove from the heat.

5. Slowly mix the sugar syrup in to the egg whites and continue to mix until tepid.

Step 2: Make the Fondants

1. Melt a little butter and use to brush the sides and bases of the glass jars you are using.

2. Place the broken dark and milk chocolate in to a heat proof bowl and heat over a gentle pan of recently boiled water until melted. When melted remove and keep at room temperature.

3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and coffee.

4. In a separate mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks and softened butter until emulsified. This usually takes 2-3 minutes.

5. Whisk the flour mixture in to the yolks and butter. Add the melted chocolate and finally the Italian Meringue.

6. Spoon the mixture in to the prepared jars. Making sure to tap the side to get rid of any air bubbles. We recommend filling the jars about 2/3 full. Then add the lids to keep them fresh.

7. You can freeze these for later or cook straight away.

8. If you have frozen your fondants remove them from the freezer and allow to defrost before baking them in the oven. A sudden change in temperature can cause glass to shatter and break.

9. Before cooking remove the lid. Preheat your oven to 190°C and bake for 15-20 minutes. Or until risen and firm on top.

This recipe is great to make little puddings for the future!

What do you think of this recipe? Will you be giving it a go? It's a little more complicated than some of our other recipes. But like we said you can make it in advance and freeze it for later. Stuart often makes these with his son who loves getting involved. Just make sure you are careful with the hot sugar and electric whisk around little ones. It might be best to make the meringue on your own!

Let us know if you decide to make this delicious fondant. And don't forget to tag us in any pictures on social media!

You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Be sure to tag us in all your awesome product shots and use the hashtag #sen5esbottles. We love seeing our products in the wild!

We are also now on Youtube! Head over to our Youtube channel and give us a like and a follow. Would you like to see a video version of this recipe? Let us know in the comments below!

All the best

The team at Sen5es