Chocolate and mascarpone fondant Recipe from Chef Cyril Lignac

A super soft cake with mascarpone instead of butter. Here I explain the recipe from chef Cyril Lignac.

This chocolate cake is ultra soft, a bit like an intermediate between a pot of chocolate cream and the very delicious flourless birthday cake.

This recipe from chef Cyril Lignac is that of a chocolate cake without butter. And it’s the mascarpone that gives it its absolutely incredible texture. We therefore concentrate here on the taste of chocolate, without artifice.

Why mascarpone?

Mascarpone, Italy’s iconic cheese, is known for its creamy texture and delicate taste reminiscent of cream. Originally from northern Italyits first traces of production date back to the 16th century in the region of Lodi and Abbiate Grasso, near Milan.

The name mascarpone would come from “Mascherpa” Or “Mascarpia”. This expression from Lombardy would mean “released” from what I have read. For what ? This would come from the fact that mascarpone does not have a particular shape, thus taking that of its container.

Traditionally made from cow’s milk creamsometimes made from buffalo milk, mascarpone is a soft cheese, without rind and unrefined. He is protected by the standard of May 21, 1998 which guarantees respect for its traditional characteristics namely: mascarpone is obtained by the coagulation of milk cream under the combined action of heat and acidity (an acidic agent such as lemon, vinegar, etc.), without the use of rennet.

With a fat content of at least 80% on dry matter and proteins of between 2.8% and 6% on the finished product, mascarpone is classified among “triple cream” cheesessuch as Brillat-Savarin and Boursault. Mascarpone owes its success to its velvety and creamy texture, characteristic of this category of cheeses, without having an overly pronounced taste, therefore perfect for all kinds of use in cooking or baking.

On the nutritional side, mascarpone is therefore very richwith 383 kcal per 100 gr. Low in protein (5 times less than cooked pressed cheeses), it is also a good source of calcium, phosphorus and vitamins fat-soluble (vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin E).

In baking, a little mascarpone added to whipping cream helps whipped cream to set well. It replaces also like here very good lure.

We use mascarpone at room temperature. A bit like tiramisus, it will then be much easier to soften and mix with the other ingredients.
We use 60% dessert chocolate. Then melt the dark dessert chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave. We just want it to melt and become soft without heating it too much. The ideal way to help is to add a little water or milk, about a tablespoon, no more.

Then we mix the mascarpone and the melted chocolate.

Afterwards it’s simple, we add by mixing each new ingredient first one by one whole eggs, then icing sugar and flour. That’s all, it’s already ready.

You can carry out these steps with a robot or by hand. But we don’t want to incorporate too much air into the preparationwhich would result in the cake freezing during baking. We want to keep a very dense and creamy texture. So mixed by hand is betteror in the robot but very slowly, or finally just the mascarpone and the chocolate in the robot then we add and mix with a wooden spatula the eggs, the icing sugar and the flour.

Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured mold.or in a mold covered with parchment paper. Ideally, use a springform mold with a removable bottom, your cake will be even easier to unmold.

Cooking is quick, around twenty minutes, in a not very hot oven, 150°C. Because of this rapid cooking, your chocolate fondant will still be very soft when it comes out of the oven.

Also, wait until it has completely cooled before unmolding it.

I hope that all these indications have been useful to you. Now for the recipe, you will see that it is very easy and quick to make.

Optional, icing

Chef Cyril Lignac’s initial recipe is made with a glaze, which I am not offering you here because I find this recipe to be sufficiently chocolatey and interesting in my opinion without it.

But if you want to serve this cake with frosting, gently melt 100g of dark dessert chocolate with 50g of butter. pour everything over the cake and let cool so that the icing sets before serving.