Chocolate & Rum Fondants w Orange Zest Custard

Instructions

Prep your ramekins: using a pastry brush, paint with melted butter, using upward strokes from the bottom. Once completed, chill for 5 minutes. Remove and repeat this process, this time once you have buttered them add a good spoonful of cocoa powder and tip the ramekin so the cocoa coats the butter. Use any excess to tap into the next buttered ramekin. Repeat until all four are rebuttered and dusted then place in the freezer.

Melt the chocolate and butter together slowly in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over some simmering water. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir until glossy and smooth. Pour in your rum and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

Whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar until really frothy, thick and pale yellow. The raised whisk should leave a trail in the mixture. Sift the flour into the eggs, then beat together.   Pour the melted chocolate/rum mixture into the eggs in thirds beating well between each addition, until both mixtures are fully combined. You should have the consistency of a loose batter.

Remove your ramekins from the freezer and pour your batter evenly between them. At this point the fondants can be frozen for up to a month and cooked from frozen. If you can’t wait that long, chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or overnight. To bake from frozen, follow the following instructions but add on another 5 minutes to the cooking time.

Preheat your oven to 180c. Place the fondants on a baking tray and cook for 12 – 15 minutes until the tops have formed a lovely crust and they look like they are coming away from the sides. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 1 minute.

Run a sharp knife around the tops of your fondant using the ramekin as a guide to loosen them slightly. Take your serving plate, gently place over the ramekin and tip your delicious dessert out onto the plate.

Orange Zest Infused Custard

Pour milk into a saucepan and gentle heat to a simmer, sprinkle in your zest, stir then remove from the heat. Allow the zest to infuse the milk for about 15 minutes.

Drain the milk and discard the zest. In a clean saucepan heat the infused milk to a gentle simmer. In a heatproof bowl whisk together the sugar, egg yolks and cornflour.

Once simmering (not boiling) whisk a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture, keep adding a little more until all the milk is in the bowl with the egg mixture, then transfer back into the saucepan. Add your vanilla.

Stir over a low heat until thickened, then allow to simmer for about a minute, stir gently, from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.

Allow to cool, if you’re not using your anglaise straight away, cover the surface with glad wrap or baking paper so you don’t get any lumps when you reheat. Gently reheat when ready serve.