Espresso mud cakes, chocolate syrup & ice cream

chocolate coffee cake coffee dessert espresso espresso cake indulgent dessert mud cake

N/A

Source

Ingredients

50g unsalted butter , softened, plus extra for the tin

2 tsp espresso powder , dissolved in 2 tsp hot water, plus extra for the tin

100g chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into squares

45g Bournville bar , broken into squares

50g golden caster sugar , plus 1 tbsp

1 large egg , separated

seeds from ½ a vanilla pod , or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp plain flour , sifted

4 tbsp golden syrup

coffee or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter four wells of a muffin tin, and sprinkle some espresso powder into each.

In a pan, gently melt half of each of the chocolates with the butter until smooth. Stir in 50g sugar, then take off the heat and cool for a few mins. Stir in the coffee, egg yolk, vanilla and flour until even.

Beat the egg whites with electric beaters or a balloon whisk until foamy and thickened. Add 1 tbsp sugar and whisk until it forms shiny soft peaks. Take care not to overwhisk – softer is better if you’re not sure.

Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate batter to loosen, then carefully fold in the rest of the whites using a large metal spoon or a spatula.

Spoon into the prepared tin, then bake for 10-12 mins or until the cakes are just starting to dome in the middle. Cool the cakes in the tin for 15 mins. In a small pan, melt the remaining chocolates and golden syrup together with 3 tbsp hot water, and whisk until silky smooth. Turn out the cakes and serve warm in a puddle of the syrup and topped with ice cream.