Chocolate Bombes with Black Pepper Beaujolais Sauce
This chocolate creation is easy to make. It just takes a little prep time, but is well worth the indulgence. You can also serve it with ice cream, crème fraîche or raspberry coulis and receive rave reviews from the audience.
Ingredients
Beaujolais Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
10 whole black peppercorns
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 bottle (750 ml) Beaujolais wine
Chocolate Bombes:
12 truffles
11 tbsp unsalted butter
5 ounces best quality bittersweet Valrhona chocolate
3 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Directions
Make the Beaujolais Sauce:
In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, peppercorns, vanilla bean, cloves and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid turns a golden caramel colour, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, and taking care to stand back, slowly pour in the bottle of Beaujolais. The wine will splatter initially as it hits the hot syrup and then the syrup will begin to harden. Return the saucepan to the burner and cook over medium-high heat, stirring well to remelt the caramel. Let the liquid boil gently until it has reduced by half, 20 to 25 minutes. Strain into another large, clean saucepan and discard the spices.
Make the Chocolate Bombes:
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush it lightly over the 12 cups of a standard muffin tin. Set aside.
Break the 5 ounces of chocolate into small pieces and combine with the 10 tablespoons of butter in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture thickens and triples in volume, 7 to 8 minutes. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture. Sift the flour over the batter and then quickly fold it in.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Push 1 truffle down into the centre of each cake. The Bombes may be made up to this point and held for several hours before baking. If holding for more than an hour or two, store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the Bombes in the middle of the oven until the tops spring back when touched lightly, 12 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven until the tops spring back when touched lightly, 12 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edges of each cake and then invert the entire tin onto a flat baking sheet. Using a spatula, transfer the Bombes to serving plates. Surround generously with the Beaujolais sauce and serve at once.