OMGOMG I know!! I’m posting a recipe. This is so strange.
I need this post. I am so swamped with work and ff&f seems like the perfect refuge from papers. Also, I finally got a picture from my professor of this dessert.
Weeks and weeks ago, the Grenoble group celebrated the birthdays of two students. Both are really big fans of chocolate, one so much so that she is willing to be shunned by the French (or so French language professors will have you believe) by drinking hot chocolate at all the little cafes that line the streets of this enchanting city (3 weeks to go and I’m already feeling nostalgic). I opt for “le petit cafe” because social anxiety drives me to conform, and because I really like the little spoons.
At any rate, I figured I’d try my hand at a “trio” of desserts and pretend I was on Top Chef for a night. Everything was really well received, even though I wasn’t thrilled with how the white chocolate on the candied orange peels tasted. *ff&f Warning* Nestle Baking White Chocolate doesn’t melt well at all and tastes funny.
Moelleux au Chocolat- (Fudgey Chocolate Cake) I have notice that when it comes to their food, French people are extremely precise. It is for this reason that there are three words for chocolate cake (fondant, moelleux, and gateau). I was planning on doing a flourless chocolate cake, which I think falls closer on the range of fondant, but I got nervous as I was chopping the chocolate and opted to add some of flour. After searching around and reading the recommendations of French mothers on a parenting websites’ baking forum, I chose to add 100 g of flour and another egg. The flour brought it more to what I think a moelleux is, but maybe that’s because I soaked it in ganache while it cooled.
Cake
100 g of flour
125 g of sugar
200 g of butter
200 g of baking chocolate
4 eggs
Chocolate Ganache (follow any recipe you find. I think I used the first one that comes up on a Google search for ganache au chocolat, but it made way too much. It calls for 200 gr of chopped baking chocolate, 125 g whipping cream, and 50 grams of butter. Heat the cream and pour over chocolate, then melt in butter. It will look broken and loose at first… don’t panic.)
Cake Instructions:
Melt Chocolate and butter gently in a double boiler. Let cool a bit. Beat eggs and sugar together until pale yellow in color. Pour in chocolate and combine. Stir in flour just until combined. Bake at 375 for 15 to 25 minutes. Poke a few holes on the surface with a fork and then pour ganache over the top, just to cover the surface. Sprinkle some cocoa or powder sugar on top to if you don’t like shiny cakes.
Hot Chocolate with Sceneted Marshmallows
I wish I kept track of this better, because it was pretty tasty, but for me Hot Chocolate is more of a feeling than a science. I used a mixture of milk and cream because I felt like it. Heat it up with cocoa and cane sugar to whatever intensity and sweetness you like and serve in espresso cups along with the cake and the orange peels. I also added a tablespoon of vanilla sugar to the pot, but usually I’d opt for a little vanilla extract.
The special part about the hot chocolates was that I served marshmallows made by the amazing chocolate and candy makers at La Culte de Chocolat in Grenoble, along with the cups. They came in plain, violet, anise, and lemon, but I only went with the first three. Anise was my clear favorite and definitely added a nice flavor to the hot chocolate.
Candied Orange Peels, Dipped in Chocolate-
I have explained how to do this in an earlier post (Bread Pudding Recipe), so I’ll keep it brief. Boil the peels in water (just the orange part) twice for 1 minute then boil them in a simple syrup for 5 minutes. Let them cool then dip them in melted chocolate.

Ps. I’m sure there are a million typos but my English has seriously deteriorated, and I’m tired to edit tonight. Yay ff&f Lives!