Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

Servings: six

Bouchon from Thomas Keller turns out to be a book I consult quite often for my weekly menu. This time, I tried Bouchon. I’m sure you’re dizzy now. Allow me.

Bouchon is the name of Thomas Keller’s bistro (of which the cookbook is named after). It can also refer to a cake, the cork (in French) and a type of restaurant found in Lyon, serving those delectable, hard-core Lyonnaise specialties (quenelles, andouillette, boudin, etc). Did I miss anything?

The cake, named after the cork, is very chocolaty. Hot, they’re moist and soft (but not spongy) in the middle, chewy and slightly crusty on the outside. They’re great cure for chocolate craving as they’re easy and quick to make. I personally think that one small one is the perfect dose as they’re very rich.  Cold, they’re more suitable for wolfing down and do resemble very fine (ie. not the coarse, chunky) brownies.

I use the small (5-cm diameter, 3-cm tall) muffin cups to yield six because I want smaller portions. Unfortunately, they didn’t exactly turn out shaped like little corks. But that’s OK as the squat muffin moulds make the cakes look impressive for entertaining: all French and elegant dusted with white powder (sugar, not coke!).

Modified to scale from Bouchon.


Ingredients:
Butter and flour for the timbale moulds.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
113 g unsalted butter, melted and slightly warm
57 g semisweet chocolate, chopped into pieces the size of chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside

In a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat egg and sugar on medium speed for 3-5 minutes or until thick and very pale in colour. Mix in the vanilla. ON low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, then 1/2 of the butter, and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and mix to combine.

Put the timbale moulds on a baking sheet. Spoon about 2 tbsp of batter in each mould (or up to 2/3 full). Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. When the tops look shiny and set like a brownie, test with a wooden skewer. It should come out clean but not dry (there might be some melted chocolate from the chopped chocolate). Transfer to a cooling rack. After a few minutes, invert the timbale and let the bouchons cool upside down in the moulds, then lift off the moulds (do not remove the moulds when hot: the cake may break). To serve, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve with ice cream, if desired.