Chocolate Friands (“Small Mouthfull”)
Recipe adapted from TARTINE , Prueitt / Robertson, Chronicle Books 2006
YIELD 24 MINI CAKES
Batter:
6 ounces (180g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 ounces (220g) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups (250g) sugar
¾ cup (100g) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp Cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
4 large eggs
Ganache:
4 oz. (110g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup Heavy cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line up 24 mini-muffin cup paper liners on a baking sheet, or butter and flour 24 mini-muffin-tin wells, knocking out the excess flour.
To make the butter: place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until hot. Pour the butter over the chocolate and whisk or stir until smooth. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix well. Add the flour mixture to chocolate mixture in 3 batches, whisking well after each addition. Add 2 of the eggs and whisk until combined, and then add the remaining 2 eggs and whisk just until incorporated. Be careful not over mix the batter.
Transfer the batter to a liquid measuring cup for pouring, and fill the cups three-fourth full.
Bake until the cakes just start to crack on top, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, and then unmold them if you have baked them in the muffin tins and let cool completely. If you have baked them in the paper cups, just let them cool in the cups.
To make ganache: place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small pan, bring the cream to just under a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for a minute or two. Stir gently with rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Make sure the friands are cool before dipping them into the ganache. Holding each friand by its sides, dip the top into the ganache and then shake gently to let the excess run off the side. Return the friand to the rack and let the ganache set up in a cool place for about one hour.
Top with fresh raspberries and dusting confectioners’ sugar.