As much as I love spending time with my in-laws around a wonderful meal prepared with copious amounts of butter, salt and love, my thighs dread it. You put French people around a table without some form of meat and cheese and someone’s likely to get hurt (usually the vegetarian).
Over the last 4 years, my mother-in-law has been slow to understand that pouring half a container of sugar onto a fruit salad does not make it “light” and that molten chocolate cake after a plateau of roast beef, potatoes, creamy cheeses and enough baguette to turn my stomach into an actual balloon, is not conducive to a healthy digestive tract. My husband and I have encouraged her to cook with olive oil instead of entire sticks of butter and replace white with whole grain bread, but as is true for most French people, she is stuck in tradition. If it doesn’t taste buttery, it can’t be good.
But I will give her one thing. Whenever I’m in the mood for a rich, gut-bursting treat, she never disappoints. At a recent lunch, she was commissioned to bring the dessert but kept her masterpiece a secret until the end. I paced myself with the bread and potatoes, fearing the worst. I was pleasantly surprised when she brought out a plate of mini chocolate soufflés as I didn’t think “mini” was in her vocabulary (I later learned she learned the recipe at her Tupperware party, an activity I thought was extinct). Just one of the heavenly mini’s were enough to satisfy the lingering sweet spot and leave me practically begging for the recipe.
A few days later, this baby was in my inbox. Quick, easy to make and great for parties when you don’t want to schlep a huge pie. The white chocolate touch at the end gives this dessert its “double chocolate” name, but feel free to substitute another kind of chocolate if you aren’t a fan.
Ingredients
150g dessert chocolate (the higher the quality, the better)
150g butter
4 eggs
50g flour
150g sugar
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F)
Melt the butter and the chocolate in separate pots and then mix together in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly with a spatula.
Once completely mixed, pour the contents of the bowl into a muffin tin (relatively small, not the super-size-me American kind). Add a piece of white chocolate in the center of the batter in each compartment.
Cook for 15 minutes and let cool for 15 minutes before removing them from the mold.
Enjoy with an espresso and a comfortable pair of pants. Bon appétit!
Photo Credits: Montana Eats