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Introducing the cutest little brownies ever! Up your brownie game and make this scrumptious recipe for Chocolate Bouchons- a french-style brownie that is crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, with double the dark chocolate, with just a hint of sweetness. A grown-up brownie. 😉
I received a nice surprise in the mail today. A gift. Truthfully, a gift from myself. For several weeks I had been patiently awaiting the arrival of Thomas Keller’s new cookbook, Bouchon Bakery, so patiently in fact, I forgot I had ordered it. So when it arrived, it truly was a surprise. I highly recommend this… surprising your future yourself…it feels magnificent!
What also feels magnificent, are these little chocolate gems, chewy and melty in your mouth. They remind me of a brownie, but so much much cuter. They are named for their shape, which resembles a cork, which translates to “bouchon” in French. Not gluten-free, not vegan, these are the real deal, full-flavored, rich and yet not overly sweet.
A decadent treat, perfect for holiday gatherings or celebrations.
The cookbook, like all of Keller’s previous ones, is a dream, beautifully and richly crafted. It’s a place to get lost. And also a place to learn. This recipe was surprisingly easy. My next attempt will be his chocolate croissants, a little more involved and challenging. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
To become better at cooking and baking it’s important to challenge yourself and to keep practicing. Recipes often require repetition to get them right. There are so many different variables. I have felt the frustration of following a recipe to the letter, and have it fail. It’s agonizing.
Sometimes, it’s just a bad recipe or a small typo, but most often, it’s a slight variation in temperature, measurement, or technique. It is important to read a recipe all the way through, several times, before embarking. This way you will be prepared for the time commitment involved and the tools you may need.
Often baking requires rising time or resting time and rushing these can result in poor results. Chances are if you really want to perfect something, you will have to practice it many times, and within a time frame that allows you to remember what you did before, so you know what to do differently the next time.
This is how we learn. Through Practice.
How to make Chocolate Bouchons
This recipe calls for a bouchon mold.
A bouchon mold is taller and skinnier than a mini cupcake pan…literally shaped like a cork, but I am sure a mini cupcake pan would work fine too!
Step One: Place the flour, sifted cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk.
The interesting thing about this recipe is that it calls for more cocoa powder than flour. He recommends using high-quality cocoa. Make sure to sift the cocoa powder to get the clumps out.
Step two: Combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla in a stand mixer and whisk on med-low speed, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer running, alternating between the two, add the butter and flour in 3 additions. Then mix to combine well, scraping the bowl as necessary.
Step three: Remove the bowl, fold in chocolate chips. Let sit in a cool spot ( not the refrigerator) for 2 hours. The batter can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to two days, but make sure to let sit at room temp for two hours before filling the molds.
Preheat oven to 350F
Step four: Using a pastry bag or spoon, fill the bouchon mold, stopping just below the rim.
Step five: Bake for 12 minutes in a convection oven, or 16 minutes ins a standard oven. Remove mold from the oven and let stand 10 minutes(so that they will hold their shape), then unmold the bouchons on a cooling rack, turn right side up and let cool completely.
Chocolate Bouchons
- Prep Time: 160 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: desserts, baked, brownies
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: french
Description
Ingredients
- 5 oz butter- room temp (141 grams)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons flour (50 grams)
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder ( 50 grams)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp ( 1 1/2 large eggs) eggs ( 75 grams)
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt ( .4 grams)
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (162 grams)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla paste (1.5 grams) or sub 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (112 grams)
- powered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Place the flour, sifted cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk.
Combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla in a stand mixer and whisk on med-low speed, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer running, alternating between the two, add the butter and flour in 3 additions. Then mix to combine well, scraping the bowl as necessary. - Remove the bowl, fold in chocolate chips. Let sit in a cool spot ( not the refrigerator) for 2 hours. The batter can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to two days, but make sure to let sit at room temp for two hours before filling the molds.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Using a pastry bag or spoon, fill the bouchon mold, stopping just below the rim.
- Bake for 12 minutes in a convection oven, or 16 minutes ins a standard oven. Remove mold from the oven and let stand 10 minutes(so that they will hold their shape), then unmold the bouchons on a cooling rack, turn right side up and let cool completely.
- Dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Notes
Tips: He recommends using the convection setting on your oven, valrhona cocoa powder, a Pastry bag and a bouchon mold.
Nutrition
- Calories: 289
Keywords: how to make bouchons, bouchon recipe, what are bouchons, chocolate bouchons, chocolate bouchon recipe
Hi, always wanted to know how bouchon tastes like so I made it today. Came out perfect using your guidance above. Just to be sure, does it taste a bit too salty? I measured 4g as in recipe.
★★★★★
Yes, they are slightly salty!
Sylvia, You mention receiving the Bouchon Bakery cookbook and making Thomas Keller’s chocolate bouchon. So, I thought your recipe would be the same as his, but when I compared the two (the version on the website Delish), there were several differences. He calls for 3 large eggs, your recipe has 1 1/2. He uses 3/4 cup flour, you use 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 T. Did Delish change his recipe or did you tweek it? Why?
Hi April- I believe I just halved his recipe.:)
the first time I made them they didn’t set properly, even though I used a scale to measure everything. I’m going to try again today. I did use mini chips (barista chocolate chips) and they are super small, so maybe that was the issue. what chips have you used? I got this recipe from our dear friend and they are amazing, so hopefully I’ll get the consistency right. practice makes perfect.
★★★★★
Shoot- perhaps they didn’t bake long enough, or the oven wasn’t fully preheated? I used mini chips too. 😉
La voy a practicar!!! Muchas gracias Silvia🥰
★★★★★
Thanks Graciela
I am excited to make these for Valentine’s Day for my family. How long do you think they will last after making them and can they be frozen or refrigerated after baking?
Thank you!
Hi Holly! Treat them like you would brownies. I bet they would freeze just fine. I’d just keep out on the counter, but up to you!
Hey Sylvia, do you think I could make these in cannele moulds?
You know Paula, I bet they would turn out cute! My only hesitation is… would they stick? Also because I think the cannele mold is wider, you may need to cook a bit longer?
Do you have the recipe in grams? Thank you!
Sorry for the dealy Mike, grams are added!
Scrumptious!
★★★★★
The link you have for the pans offers several options. Which is the correct for this recipe
Hi I used the middle sized one 1.75 inches in diameter!
I tried this recipe, it turned out perfectly ! Loved it so much I’m making it again. I added a bit of rum on the Bouchons, to cut the sweet – superb !
Love the rum addition!
The Bouchon pan that you used for this recipe is different then the one you show for purchasing on Amazon. I am interested in the pan that you show for this recipe, with the red bottoms. Do you know where I can purchase yours?
I got this at Ikea, a few years back!
This is fantastic. I have an allergy-friendly blog due to our family allergies. Do you mind if I update this recipe for that site and post a link back to your original recipe? Thanks!
Sylvia-so glad I found you on Pinterest. Your recipes are inspiring! My daughter bought the Bouchon cookbook for me for Christmas. Our best friend worked at the French Laundry with Keller and we love fixing meals together. I will be using your recipes, now. BTW, we live in CDA so it is so great to get the local references. Keep it up and look forward to trying the “real deal” soon! Lisa
Curious to know why Keller doesn’t use weights in the published recipes. I would have preferred the precision of weights to what seems an obvious effort to convert to volumes.
In the book, Keller gives both weight and volume measurements. However, he strongly suggests that you use a scale.
Yes, Keller does offer recipe by weight too.
I also made these recently…so good! 🙂
Yay! So happy!
Looks delicious! I would so love to try some. I am sure it tastes amazing.
It’s the first time I hear about “Bouchons” and they sure look adorable! Googling show me a lot of chocolate bouchons. Are there more different once in the cookbook?
Same recipe as the cookbook 🙂
This is such a good recipe – the first thing I made out of Bouchon! 🙂 I did do it in mini cupcake tins, and they turned out perfectly! 🙂
Just added this to my “to bake” list. They look delicious and your photos are beautiful! Loved your thoughts on this cookbook. I just added it to my Wishlist yesterday (hoping it will be under the tree this Christmas 🙂 I’m baking my way through the new Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. So far, very impressed. I’d recommend when you’re looking for your next cookbook.
Thanks for the tip. I have always loved going to Dahlia Bakery and now I look forward to reading the cookbook!
I saw one of your pictures on Foodgawker and just had to tell you that these pictures are absolutely beautiful. You’ve definitely got a new fan here. The best wishes from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thanks!
I made Keller’s brownies and reviewed them on my blog. They were amazing, like nothing I’ve ever had before! I can’t wait to try bouchons – I know they are as good. And now I know that this book needs to be on my wish list 🙂