Moelleux au Chocolat (Authentic Recipe)

Name: Moelleux au Chocolat
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 7 oz. (200 g) dark chocolate, 70% cocoa; 4 oz. (120 g) unsalted butter; 4 large eggs, room temperature; 3/4 cup (150 g) cane sugar; 2/3 cup (80 g) all-purpose flour

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Experience the best of both words: treat yourself to a divine and decadent moelleux au chocolat. Should it be dense with a brownie or cake texture complimented by a gooey or moist chocolate center? Learn how to make the perfect moelleux au chocolat like a pro.

Moelleux au chocolat featuring texture on a marble board

Moelleux au chocolat, fondant au chocolate, chocolate fondant... How many people are confused with those desserts' names? All three are made with the same ingredients, but what is the difference?

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What is moelleux au chocolat?
Moelleux au chocolat recipe
Ingredients
Recipe variations
How to make moelleux au chocolat
Expert Tips
How to serve it
Storage instructions
Recipe FAQ
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Comments

The difference is mainly in the textures due to the cooking time of these three chocolate cakes.

Moelleux au chocolat is the densest and most baked of the three. The texture of fondant au chocolat is super moist due to less flour compared with the moelleux cake. Chocolate fondant or le mi-cuit has a liquid gooey center.

Moelleux au chocolat, a French classic, stands distinct from a chocolate lava cake or lava molten cake famous in the United States. Instead, it is the art of French cooking with a unique texture and indulgent flavor.

Sliced Moelleux au chocolat on a white serving platter

What is moelleux au chocolat?

Moelleux au chocolat, or gateau moelleux au chocolat is a French rich moist chocolate cake made with chocolate, butter, flour, eggs, and sugar that resembles fondant au chocolate but has a denser texture.

Moelleux au chocolat translates as chocolate cake in English, but it is not an ordinary French chocolate cake. It is all about the ingredients' quality, their recipe order, and baking time.

Despite its French origin, this indulgent dessert can often be misspelled by non-French speakers. Variations such as moelleux chocolat and moelleux au chocolate are very common.

Moelleux au chocolat recipe

This easy and delicious moelleux au chocolat recipe (recette moelleux au chocolat) has only five simple ingredients.

It makes a family favorite to finish dinner and a decadent dessert to celebrate a birthday or another special occasion.

Also known as a chocolate moelleux cake, it is a true delight for chocolate lovers.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Chocolate is one of the main ingredients in making this recipe. Choose top-quality dark chocolate with 70% cacao. You can experiment with different cacao percentages, but it will affect the cake's texture.

Don't use chocolate chips; they don't work for this recipe. Also, cocoa powder is not typically included in the recipe to keep it authentically French.

Butter: Opt for European-style unsalted butter with 82% fat content. This cake is all about the quality of the chocolate and butter.

Eggs: The recipe calls for large-sized whole eggs at room temperature. Ensure to bring them to the counter an hour before you start.

Sugar: Use cane sugar, but replace it with brown sugar, white granulated, or caster sugar, if desired.

Flour: Use all-purpose flour to make the recipe. I haven't tried the recipe with another flour but wheat flour.

Recipe variations

All the recipe variations come with the baking time experimenting. If you bake this cake a bit longer, you will have a chocolate cake resembling sponge cake but denser. You will get a much more moist texture with a few minutes less baking.

Still, if you look for melt-in-your-mouth chocolate goodness, try other French chocolate desserts: French fondant cake or Fondant Baulois with melting textures. They are richer in butter and eggs and contain less flour.

How to make moelleux au chocolat

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Prepare an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan or a cake ring wrapped with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Step 2. With the softened butter and a pastry brush, grease the bottom and the sides of the mold. Line them with strips and a disk of parchment paper. Place the prepared cake ring on a baking sheet.

Step 3. Melt chopped chocolate with butter cut into small cubes in a double boiler or microwave at 30-second increments on 30% power, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon. Then set it aside to cool down.

Pro tip: Alternatively, you can use a water bath: place chopped chocolate with butter in a Pyrex glass bowl (or another heatproof bowl) over a small saucepan with some water.

Step 4. Bring the pan over medium-high heat and let the ingredients melt, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.

Step 5. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a separate mixing bowl, place sugar and eggs (at room temperature) and whisk for 5 minutes until the mixture doubles in volume (photo 1). You can use an eclectic mixer if desired.

Step 6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the sifted flour into the egg and sugar mixture.

Step 7. Gently incorporate the cooled melted chocolate into the batter with a spatula, taking care not to deflate it (photo 2).

Photo 1: Beaten eggs and sugar mixture Photo 2: Chocolate cake batter in a bowl — **PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2**

Step 8. Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared mold (photo 3) and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven (photo 4) and let it cool before unmolding.

Photo 3: Cake batter in a baking mold Photo 4: Baked moelleux au chocolat in a pan — **PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2**

Expert Tips

Choose an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan for easy removal of the cake.
For a smaller or larger cake, recalculate ingredients with a simple cake pan calculator.
Depending on your tastes, lengthen or shorten the cooking time, which will change the texture of the cake.

How to serve it

Serve your moelleux au chocolat with a variety of tasty accompaniments. Treat yourself to velvety egg custard crème Anglaise, a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate indulgence, or top it off with homemade whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Storage instructions

Store moelleux au chocolat in an airtight container or wrapped with cling film in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Can you freeze moelleux au chocolat? You can freeze it for up to 3 months. First, cover the cooled cake with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and carefully bring it to the freezer.

To thaw the cake, leave it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, better overnight. Alternatively, you can defrost the cake quickly by placing it in a preheated oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 10 minutes.

Recipe FAQ

What is moelleux au chocolat English?

Moelleux au chocolat translates as chocolate cake in English, but it means more of a fondant of chocolate with a melting texture than a regular moist chocolate cake.

What does moelleux au chocolat mean in French?

Moelleux au chocolat comes from "moelleux," meaning "soft," and "au chocolate," meaning chocolate as an adjective. So all it means is a chocolate dessert with a soft chocolate texture, not melting one like fondant au chocolate, and not with a liquid center like chocolate fondant or mi-cuit.

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