Have you ever driven past a chocolate shop & said to yourself "If there is a car park in the next block, I'll take it & visit the shop"? If you have you can understand why I was so excited when I found a car park. If you are familiar with Chapel St in Melbourne you will take it as a sign that I simply had to visit the shop.

Neither I nor my family are coeliacs or need to be on a gluten free diet so I didn't mind going into the Lindt shop (it has since closed :() & buying a few presents for the family. One of the products leaping of the shelf into my shopping basket was a packet mix of 'Cuor di Cioccolato' - Chocolate Lava Cakes or if you prefer the google translation 'Hot Chocolate Heart'. My family loved the 'Hot Chocolate Hearts' & would have loved more but alas the mix only made 4 portions. Of course they threw out the challenge, I happily accepted & we have all been trialling various lava cakes.

These Hot Chocolate Hearts would be great for a dinner party - the mix doesn't take long to make, the mix can be put into the moulds/dishes beforehand and they only take ~9 minutes to bake :).

This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour.   

Ingredients

140 g Dark chocolate (I use 53.8% cocoa solids Callebaut callettes)

32 g Copha

160 g Castor sugar

4  Eggs (room temperature)

30 g Glucose syrup

40 g  Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

48 g Cocoa

20 g Skim milk powder

pinch of salt

Extra - butter (melted), castor sugar & optional icing sugar

 

Copha, glucose syrup & skim milk powder - Glucose syrup & skim milk powder were ingredients in the Lindt lava cakes as was vegetable fat (coconut). In the place of the latter ingredient I have used copha as it has a better taste than coconut oil. I did make a batch of lava cakes substituting in milk & butter for the copha, glucose syrup & skim milk powder but the family didn't like them as much. 

Method

Preheat oven to 210^o C.

Prepare the dish(es) you will be using. The dishes you use will depend on what size & how many puddings you want. This mix is sufficient for 8 (the original size) or 6 slightly larger ones. I have used ramekins, little pudding cups & dariole moulds - my preference is the dariole moulds. Melt the extra butter and grease the dishes then coat the sides with the extra castor sugar. Shake off any excess. 

By hand

Sift (mix) together the flour, cocoa, skim milk powder & pinch of salt. You don't really have to sift just make sure you get rid of any lumps & it is an even colour. 

Put the chocolate and copha in a microwaveable bowl. Melt the chocolate and copha by microwaving on low heat. You may need to heat then stir then heat again. Stir mix until copha is fully incorporated. Set aside to cool slightly.

Put the sugar, eggs & glucose syrup into another bowl. Mix with a stab blender. 

Combine the chocolate & egg mixture until uniform.

Stir in the flour/cocoa mixture until it has all combined.

Thermomix 

Put the flour, cocoa, skim milk powder & pinch of salt into the TM bowl & mix for 8 secs speed 8. Transfer to another bowl.

Put the chocolate and copha in the TM bowl. Melt the chocolate @ 50^o C for 2.5 mins at speed 2. If it hasn't all melted stir @ 50^o C for a little longer.

Put in the butterfly whisk & put the lid on. Add the eggs one by one while stirring the chocolate @ 37^o C for 2 mins at speed 4. When the eggs are incorporated slowly pour in the sugar & glucose syrup.

I have mixed in the flour/cocoa mix using the butterfly whisk for a couple of seconds but....... I always seem to over beat the mix & the resulting cakes aren't as light as the ones made by hand. They look good on the outside. 

  

However the cake tends to be a bit heavier on the inside. 

I think the best results would be to combine the chocolate/egg mix with the flour/cocoa mix by hand. 

Both Methods

Transfer ~80 g of the mix to each dish. Transfer to a baking tray.

Bake for ~9 mins - this is only a guide line. I've baked little pudding ones (50 g of mix) for 5 mins & they were great. The time is going to be dependent on how much of the mix you are baking, the type of dish, shape of the dish, your oven & probably a lot more. As such, bake one of the puddings to see how long you need to cook it for.

Bring puds out of the oven. The original instructions said to let rest for 10 mins (hah - I only lasted 5 mins before turning them out). How easy to get them out of the dish will depend on shape & size of the dish & the butter/sugar on the inside. The easiest way I have found to turn them out is to let the puds rest for ~1 min, put the serving plate on top of the mould/dish & flip it over. Leave the mould/dish over the pud for ~2 mins then gently take the mould/dish off.

Garnish with cream (& raspberries).

Simply enjoy!