bake this: nigella’s chocohotopots!
As Nigella Lawson once famously said: “Whatever the question is, I have to believe that chocolate is indeed the answer.” I’m mad for chocolate, and have a larder filled with lavender-infused Belgian bars, tins overflowing with dark, satiny cocoa, and packages of miniature chocolates. I’m somewhat of a purist in that I like my chocolate dark, a touch sweet and rarely flavored (my one downfall is of the lavender semi-sweet variety and I can always be swayed by the inclusion of a toasted almond), and I firmly believe that after a stressful week where it takes everything in you to not shriek, bowls of hot cakey pudding usually do the trick.
No tears, my friends. Just chocolate. A few years ago, an old friend came by and surprised me by baking this dessert in my home. From her bookbag she unearthed Ziplock’d bags of dry ingredients and eggs protected in Tupperware. She even carted along ramekins. I was floored by the end result, which took 20 minutes from prep to oven. Simply put, this dessert is easy breezy, and so fancy that your friends will think you’ve spent hours slaving over simmering pots. The taste is beyond luscious — a firm, almost cake-like crust with unctuous chocolate at the center. Do you need more convincing? I mean, SERIOUSLY.
I implore you to toss out the store-bought chocolate bars and indulge. And honestly, how could you go wrong with butter, chocolate and whipped cream??!!!
Nigella Lawson Chocohotopots from Nigella Feasts
1 stick (or 1/2 cup) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, with 60 percent cocoa solids*
2 eggs**
3/4 cup superfine sugar***
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Special equipment: 4 (2/3 to 1-cup capacity) ramekins
Optional
1/2 small container of cold heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of chocolate shavings (this is just shaving a bar of chocolate using a microplane or box grater, or you can peel the chocolate with a vegetable peeler for curlier strips)
Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Flour and butter the ramekins with 1 tablespoon butter and a dusting of flour.
Using a double broiler****, melt the dark chocolate and 1 stick butter. You want to stir the chocolate & butter mixture so as the ingredients cook evenly and there are no lumps. When the chocolate is completely smooth, set aside to cool for about five minutes.
In another bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and flour with a hand whisk and beat in the cooled butter and chocolate mixture. Divide the mixture between the 4 buttered ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, by which time the tops will be cooked and cracked and the chocolate gooey underneath. As ovens vary, I would check in at 14 minutes and touch the top of pudding – it should be slightly firm.
Let the pudding cool for about 2-4 minutes. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or if your deft with the whisk, feel free to go all old-school with your whipped cream), pour the cream and sugar into the mixing bowl. Whisk until firm peaks (translation: the cream should “stand up” on the edge of your whisk). Once the pudding has slightly cooled (but is still warm), dollop with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.
*I used 3 ounces of dark chocolate flavored with espresso and one ounce of regular dark chocolate. I really don’t recommend semi-sweet chocolate for this – I find that the recipe is TOO sweet. I’d either go with straight dark chocolate or half dark/half semi.
**I used organic/cage-free/certified humane eggs
***I used organic cane sugar
****A double broiler consists of two pans; the lower pan (or pot), in which water is placed to simmer, and the upper pan (or heat-proof bowl), into which goes the mixture. Remember to use them on gentle-to-moderate heat. Do ensure that the water from the boiling pan (or pot) does not touch the bottom of the upper pan (or heat proof bowl)
