Flourless chocolate-banana pudding cakes with cinnamon cream
If you want a dairy-free dessert, I would recommend substituting rice or soy ice cream for the whipped cream, since the chocolate in this dish really benefits by being served with something creamy.
- 3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60% to 72% cacao), chopped
- 2.5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, chopped
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup natural cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 egg whites
- WHIPPED CREAM
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Although I am all for some decadence here and there, I eat treats quite frequently, which is why I like desserts like this little pudding cake, which is only lightly sweetened but still chocolatey enough to hit the spot.
The texture hovers somewhere around that of a mousse or a sponge cake, being both moist and airy but still rich in chocolate flavor. I bake the banana-flecked cakes in a water bath to keep them moist and delicate—almost custardlike.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease six (6- ounce) ramekins with butter and set aside.
- Combine both chocolates in a heatproof glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, being careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Stir the chocolate with a silicone spatula until it is uniformly melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Set the bowl aside to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas very well; you want them as smooth as possible. Add the egg, vanilla, cane sugar, and salt and stir to combine. Gently stir in the melted chocolate until combined.
- In another bowl, whip the egg whites with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in a few big sweeps to avoid deflating the batter. It is okay if some streaks remain.
- Divide the mixture among the ramekins and place the ramekins in a 9 by 13-inch pan. Fill the pan with boiling water that reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the tops of the cakes are set, 20 to 22 minutes.
- To make the whipped cream, whip the cream using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixture until it holds its shape.
- Sprinkle in the cane sugar and cinnamon and continue to whip for 1 minute more. Serve each cake in its ramekin topped with a dollop of whipped cream.