Becky Excell’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Fondants
With rich gooey chocolate centres, these gluten-free chocolate fondants are ideal for impressing dinner party guests. They'll never guess you baked them in an air fryer!
Introduction
Never in a million years did I think that I’d be able to bake chocolate fondants with a gooey, molten chocolate middle in an air fryer… but here we are! This recipe is perfect for when your oven might still be busy cooking the main course; once the mixture is combined and in the ramekins, they can happily sit in a cold air fryer until everyone is ready for dessert. At that point simply air fry and serve.
Ingredients
| 100g (½ cup minus 1 tbsp) | butter, plus extra for greasing |
| 135g (4¾oz) | dark chocolate |
| 100g (½ cup) | caster (superfine) sugar |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 25g (3 tbsp) | gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour |
| 10g (1½ tbsp) | unsweetened cocoa powder |
Essential kit
You will need an air fryer.
Method
Butter 4 small ovenproof ramekins (mine are 10cm/4 inches in diameter) or 8cm (3 inch) mini pudding moulds.
In the microwave, melt together the butter and chocolate in a small bowl, mixing regularly in between short blasts. Allow to cool slightly. Alternatively, add the butter and chocolate to a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently boiling water, ensuring the water isn’t touching the bowl. Stir until everything has melted and mixed together, then allow to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until slightly frothy, then pour in the slightly cooled melted chocolate mixture and fold in. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder until combined.
Heat or preheat the air fryer to 180°C/350°F.
Pour or spoon the mixture into the prepared ramekins until around three-quarters full. Place in the air fryer basket and air fry for 8–10 minutes until risen. Carefully remove and invert each out onto a separate serving plate, then serve straight away for the perfect, gooey middle. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, if you like!
Dairy Free: Use a hard dairy-free alternative to butter, and dairy-free chocolate.
Low Lactose: Use lactose-free chocolate.
Freezer: Freeze before cooking in freezer-friendly ramekins and either fully defrost and air fry using the temps/timings in the recipe, or air fry from frozen and add 3–4 minutes onto the cooking time.
