CHOCOLATE HOTCAKES WITH FUDGE SAUCE
Serves 4-6
ADD ANOTHER LAYER OF DELICOUSNESS TO YOUR HOTCAKES WITH SLICED BANANA, ROASTED PEARS OR A HANDFUL OF RASPBERRIES
150g plain flour (1 cup)
1½ tbsp brown sugar
40g Dutch-process cocoa,
sieved
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ cup milk
100ml buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
160g firm ricotta, drained in
a sieve for 20 minutes
60g dark chocolate (56%-60%
cocoa solids), finely chopped
Vegetable oil and butter, for
frying
Vanilla ice-cream or whipped
cream, to serve
Fudge sauce
160g dark chocolate (56% cocoa
solids), finely chopped
150g caster sugar
140g liquid glucose
20g Dutch-process cocoa, sieved 20g butter
1 tsp sea salt
1. For fudge sauce, stir chocolate, sugar, glucose, cocoa, butter, 1 tsp sea salt and 150ml water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until combined and smooth, bring to a simmer and cook until sauce has a light syrup consistency (3-4 minutes).
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt in a bowl, and make a well in the centre. Whisk milk, buttermilk and egg yolks in a separate bowl to combine, add to well and stir until smooth. Crumble in ricotta, add chocolate and fold to just combine (you want the batter to be studded with little chunks of ricotta). Whisk egg whites and a pinch of salt in a bowl to firm peaks, then fold into batter.
3. Preheat oven to 160˚Cand line a large baking tray with baking paper. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add a splash of oil and 1 tsp butter and when melted, brush it evenly over base of pan. Add ¼-cupfuls of batter to pan, being careful not to overcrowd it, and cook until bubbles start to appear on the surface, and the base of the pancake is browned (2-3 minutes). Flip pancakes and cook other side until browned (2-3 minutes). Place on tray in a single layer and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest of the pancakes, wiping out pan between batches with paper towels and adding more oil and butter.
4. Serve warm pancakes with ice-cream or cream and fudge sauce.
Butter, softened for greasing 70g caster sugar, plus extra
for dusting
6 eggwhites
Chocolate or vanilla-bean
ice-cream, to serve
Chocolate cream
1 egg, at room temperature 2 egg yolks
3 tsp caster sugar
1. Generously butter six 125ml ramekins; it’s important to butter the sides all the way to the rim to help the soufflés rise. Refrigerate ramekins until butter is set (15 minutes), then dust liberally with caster sugar.
2. For chocolate cream, whisk egg, egg yolks, and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add cornflour and cocoa and whisk to combine. Bring milk and vanilla seeds to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour into egg mixture, whisking to combine, then return to a clean saucepan and stir vigorously over high heat until mixture thickly coats the spoon (2-4 minutes). Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover directly with plastic wrap and stand to cool (1 hour). Add wine and beat with a wooden spoon to a smooth cream, then stand at room temperature.
3. Preheat oven to 200˚C. If chocolate cream has been made ahead, bring it to room temperature and whisk until smooth. Whisk eggwhite with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar, whisking until smooth, firm peaks form. Fold a third of the eggwhite mixture into the chocolate cream until evenly combined, then repeat with remaining eggwhite mixture.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared moulds to the top. Level tops with a knife, then run your finger just around tops of rims to remove excess soufflé mixture (to prevent soufflés sticking). Bake until puffed (13-15 minutes), dust with cocoa and serve with chocolate ice-cream. 2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa, plus
extra for dusting
150ml milk
Scraped seeds of ½ vanilla bean 50g dark chocolate (64%-70%
cocoa solids)
1 tbsp dark sweet dessert wine, such as Pedro Ximénez or topaque
Chocolate ice-cream, to serve