Fondant Baulois

Invented in 1981, this beloved chocolate cake from La Baule became a local institution. It has a meringue-like crust and a gooey texture with salted caramel accents, and is now widely sold across France, either round, square, in a bar or en bouchée, in bite-sized morsels.

Fondant Baulois also comes in three other flavours— chocolate mint, coffee and orange. They also sell a chocolate paste in tubes to squirt in crêpes or waffles.

It is similar but different from the fondant du chocolat, made with chocolate and sugar but hardly any flour and baked at a low temperatures, so the chocolate carmelizes to create a dense texture that melts in the mouth.

Fondant au chocolat can also be a mini chocolate ‘lava’ cake served warm that oozes dark melted chocolate when you stick your spoon in it. It’s also known as a mi-cuit au chocolat.