I don’t know about you, but corks don’t sound all that appetizing to me. Nevertheless, these chocholaty treats, Bouchons au Chocolat, are basically called “little corks.”
This Bouchon au Chocolat recipe is from Aleksandra Crapanzano’s wonderful cookbook Gateau: The Suprising Simplicity of French Cakes. Crapanzano is the recipient of a James Beard M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award. She also wrote a food column for the Wall Street Journal for many years. Her book can be ordered through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. These bouchons are very very very chocolaty and the texture is delicate. They are just the thing to treat yourself to as you wind down a busy day.
Bouchons au Chocolat
April 24, 2024
Ingredients
- 2 T. hot espresso
- 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 T. dark rum
- 115 grams (about 4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate
- 6 T. unsalted butter
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 3 T. light brown sugar
- 1/4 C. granulated sugar
- 1/2 C. cake flour
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. fine sea salt
- 45 grams (about 1 1/2 ounces ) mini bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 T. powdered sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Step 2 Butter or use baking spray on your baking molds. I used a Nordic Ware mini-popover pan.
- Step 3 Measure cocoa powder into a bowl. Pour the hot espresso over the cocoa powder and stir to dissolve. (I used King Arthur Baking espresso powder mixed with a little hot water.) Stir rum into this mixture. Set aside.
- Step 4 Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler. Remove from heat and set aside (briefly!). (I used Guittard bittersweet chocolate wafers).
- Step 5 Using your stand mixer, briefly whisk egg. Add light brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the espresso mixture and the butter-chocolate you melted in the double boiler. Whisk until smooth.
- Step 6 Sift flour, baking powder and salt into the chocolate batter and then, using a rubber spatula, fold these ingredients into the chocolate batter.
- Step 7 Fold in the chocolate chips (I used chopped Guittard chocolate wafers here.).
- Step 8 Spoon this batter into your molds and bake for about 20 minutes. When your bouchons are done, a knife inserted into the bouchon will come out clean. Remove from oven and let the bouchons cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before unmolding them.
- Step 9 Dust with powdered sugar.
- Step 10 (Cook’s Note: These are wonderful served with a scoop of high quality vanilla ice cream.)
