chocolate friands – rich, mini chocolate cakes

I’m not sure why, but I am always drawn to the most pretentious sounding recipes.  Who in their right mind makes cupcakes when they could be making chocolate friands dipped in chocolate ganache?  Technically they are both mini versions of a rich chocolate cake.  Socially – well let’s just say everyone thinks I’m part wizard for actually pulling these off.  Instead of trying to fancify your cakes by jabbing them with popsicle sticks just make something that everyone feels uncomfortable pronouncing.  Simple comme bonjour!

The other reason I’m drawn to French baking it is reminds me of the four months I spent eating everything in sight in Paris.  I have never really had much of a sweet tooth, but then again I had never been confronted with 5 different types of flan on such a regular basis.  The part of French baking that really amazes me is that almost everything is made from some combination of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, chocolate & cream.  No smoke and mirrors – only traditional recipes perfected over decades.  And if you follow the recipes it really can be that easy.

I whipped these chocolate friands in less than 2 hours – for real.  All these years of eating chocolate ganache I really expected it to be highly technical.  Nope.  Now I have to live in a world where covering things in chocolate ganache is actually an option, which honestly thrills/scares me equally.

chocolate friands (from my favourite recipe book, Tartine)

- ingredients -

for the batter

6 0z chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs

for the chocolate ganache

4 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream

- directions -

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.  line up 30 mini muffin cup paper liners on a baking sheet.
2. put chocolate in a large mixing bowl. on the stove, melt butter over medium until hot. pour butter over chocolate and stir with wooden spoon until smooth.
3. in a seperate bowl combine sugar, flour, cornstarch & salt.  slowly add the flour mixture to the melted chocolate in three batches.  once fully mixed, add 2 eggs and stir until combined.  add the remaining 2 eggs and mix until just incorporated – do not over mix.
4. using a spoon or piping bag fill paper cups 3/4 full with batter.  bake 12-15 minutes or until they start to crack on top.  let cool  completely.
5. for the ganache – put chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. bring cream to just under a boil and pour it over the chocolate. let it sit for a couple minutes before stirring. gently stir until chocolate is fully melted.
6. once the friands are cool hold the edges and dip the top into the ganache.  let excess drip off before putting them on a cooling rack. let them rest in a cool place (not in the fridge) for at least one hour while the ganache sets.
7. try not to eat all of them in one sitting.

Related posts:

1. orange & blueberry scones recipe
2. honey glazed french crullers
3. apple tarts with flaky crust