Monday, February 25, 2008

Choco Hoto Pots

If you are a regular reader of this blog you would be excused for thinking that I do not like Nigella Lawson very much. I have been known to gently mock her on a few occasions. But I am actually a fan.

Admittedley, I would be even more of a fan if she stopped abusing adjectives, pulled her hair away from her face and more importantly the food, and stopped using that two handled knife for silly things - like chopping a single garlic clove (does she have shares in the company or something?). But these are small things. I can't help but admire her indulgent ways and the obvious pleasure she takes from it.

So for the past few weeks, I have been happily tuning into Feast. Enjoying it thoroughly, but not particularly inspired by anything. Until THIS...



Choco hoto pots. I immediately grabbed a pen and paper, scribbled down the recipe and marched into the kitchen. After half an hour or so, they came out of the oven. Ten or so cooling minutes later, in went the spoon and OH MY!!!



The top is a crackly crust, the outside is moist fudgy cakey goodness and the centre is warm molten chocolate. So good. And so fast. They take no time at all.

My only real downside is that they are very sweet. Maybe I will cut back on the sugar a wee bit next time. And there will be a next time.

Choco Hoto Pots
(adapted from Nigella's Feast TV show)

Melt 175gm of dark chocolate with 125gm of unsalted butter in a double boiler. Leave to cool.

Whisk together 2 eggs and 3/4 cup caster sugar. Mix in 3 tbspn of plain flour.

Fold egg, sugar and flour mix into the chocolate butter mix.

Spoon the mix into small buttered ramekins (less than a cup in size) or little teacups. Only fill to about 2/3 full. You should have enough for 4.

Place ramekins onto a baking tray. Bake in a 200C oven for 20 minutes. The pots will be piping hots so leave to cool down a bit. Expect the tops to sink down. Serve warm.

21 Comments:

At 3:21 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just made Nigella's guiness cake with (eventual) great success. These look fabulous! I love the goo factor and the small number of ingredients...

 
At 4:56 pm, Blogger Cindy said...

Mmmm, those must be good! I've had a similar experience of finding some of Nigella's recipes excessively sugary. (No complaints about the excessive levels of butter and chocolate, mind you!)

 
At 11:19 pm, Blogger skoraq cooks said...

It hurts to even look at this choco pot. Pure indulgence. Looks soooooo delicious.

 
At 11:56 pm, Blogger chriesi said...

Mmmm must taste fantastic. Yummm

 
At 11:59 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yum yum. They look delish. It would surprise me if Nigella sold the utensils she uses in her kitchen range. I find her recipes a bit hit and miss sometimes.

 
At 12:54 am, Blogger Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

These are very similar to Volcano Cakes...but even easier to whip up. Thanks for the dish :D

 
At 1:03 am, Blogger Patricia Scarpin said...

I saw the episode in which she makes these and I was drooling, KJ - now that I have seen the ones you made, too, I won't be able to resist anymore. :)

 
At 3:19 am, Blogger Cheryl said...

I love hoto pots. Nothing better that the fudge in the middle.

 
At 3:33 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those look absolutely delicious!

 
At 3:52 am, Blogger Deborah said...

I have watched Nigella a few times on tv, but the episode where she makes these has always stood out to me. I need to try them now!

 
At 11:41 am, Blogger Danielle Hall said...

These are even better if you throw in about half a cup of peanut butter chips!!!! :)

 
At 12:14 pm, Blogger JEP said...

I could probably eat all 4 servings by myself:)

 
At 1:49 pm, Blogger Brilynn said...

Those look wonderful!

I've had some beef with Nigella but that was due to wonky recipe translations in some of her older books, lately we've been getting along better.

 
At 4:29 pm, Blogger Laura said...

Mmmmm... choco hot o pots, I love that recipe. SO easy and so good. May I also recommend the keema from Feast? I mostly just read Nigella to read her rather than loving her recipes, but those 2 made that book for me...

 
At 3:07 am, Blogger Kelly-Jane said...

I'm a huge Nigella fan! These are on my list, but unmade as of yet, but their time is coming... they look fantastic =)

 
At 9:32 pm, Blogger KJ said...

Hi Charcuterista, I saw your cakes. They look great.

Hi Cindy. Nigella must have a mammoth sweet tooth.

Hi Jo. Sorry to cause you pain. Just give in to it. It's the only way.

Hi Chriesi. Thanks.

Hi rkhookes. I agree, Nigella can be a bit all over the place.

Hi Val, your welcome.

Hi Patricia, welcome to the dark side.

Hi Cheryl, definitely.

Thanks Joy. I loved your podcast.

Hi Deborah. Do, do!!!

Hi Danielle, thanks, I will remember this for the future.

Hi Jep, they are pretty rich. One was enough for me.

Hi Brilynn, I find that Nigella can be a bit all over the place too.

Hi Laura, thanks. The keema does sound good. I hope to try it one day.

Hi kelly-jane. Hope you enjoy them, eventually.

 
At 11:09 pm, Blogger Katie said...

I saw Nigella make these on tv. You ahve convienced me to try them out, they look amazing!

 
At 1:30 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

On the hoto chocolate pots I cut the sugar back to half a cup and its FAB

 
At 1:44 am, Blogger still learning... said...

Can salted butter b used?

 
At 11:02 pm, Anonymous Katie said...

Does anyone know if you can make these a few hours in advance and then just cook them when needed? Thank you

 
At 10:25 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The recipe given here is wrong I'm afraid....it's not 175gm chocolate - way too much... mine came out all wrong. Disaster! Think it's 125gm (3/4 cup). They are really easy to make and are fab (if you get the recipe right!).

 

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