Chocolate therapy can come in many forms. Aside from unwrapping a bar and taking a bite, I find that baking with chocolate is a form of therapy in itself. When things are a little crazy, I find all is right with the world when I fall back on making chocolate desserts. Thank goodness for chocolate!
With the kitchen mishaps I'd been having, I reached for one of my trusted sources for good recipes and dug into David Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate for inspiration. I decided to make bouchons, or what I think are best described as small brownie-like cakes.
When I think of bouchons, I think of Bouchon Bakery; I've had their signature chocolate bouchons and they are little cakes, shaped like a "bouchon", which means "cork" in French. I've always wanted to make bouchons because any chocolate lover welcomes the chance to make/eat a chocolaty, fudgy, brownie-like cake. I always figured I had to get the little bouchon mold for the job but I finally realized I could just bake them in a regular or mini muffin tin - or better yet...make somewhat larger - yet still mini - cakes using individual paper molds.
So I made the chocolate bouchon batter and baked a few in individual freestanding paper molds. These molds make great single-serve portions. They un-mold perfectly and you have a lovely little chocolate cake to serve each person.
Much like brownies, it's important not to overbake these cakes. They should be soft inside, revealing a moist middle when you dig into it. These cakes are solid - hearty and rich chocolate cakes that are a little crumbly and a whole lot chocolaty. We're talking chocolate cake batter made with dark as well as unsweetened chocolate and some mini chocolate chips thrown in to drive the point home.
I think this will satisfy any chocolate lover's craving. And I can tell you that if there's anything better than baking with chocolate, it is eating chocolate (or chocolate cake). I think we should all work this into our summer schedule.
