A good chocolate fondant is made with superior quality dark chocolate. The better the chocolate, the better the fondant. It is a delicate balance between excellent ingredients and the mastery of culinary skills to form a light sponge exterior with a liquid flowing interior.

Who can forget the iconic Fondente al Cioccolato at Carne on Kloof, or the Hot Dark Chocolate Fondant at Fusion World Food Café in Durban? Liberté in Craighall Park and De Kloof Restaurant in Waterkloof are just some of the establishments that are continuing the legacy of excellence in fondant making.

The chocolate fondants on this list, however, all went to private school! To find your favourite, you might just have to try them all?!

Aubergine, Gardens, Cape Town

Trust the innovative team at Aubergine to bring a delightful and fresh tropical twist to their version of the chocolate fondant. Allow yourself to be transported to distant shores by the sweetness of litchi, the vibrant, velvety mouthfeel of mango and the nutty crunch of toasted rice in the homemade ice cream that is paired with the dark chocolate eruption at the centre of the fondant. A decadent treat.

The Woodlands Eatery, Vredehoek, Cape Town

Good things come to those who wait. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare the chocolate fondant at this spot, but your patience is rewarded with a perfectly delicious fondant served with vanilla ice cream, crumble and a strawberry coulis. Pairing the fondant with some of their authentic Italian Limoncello is highly recommended.

San Deck, Sandton, Johannesburg

Situated at the core of Sandton, San Deck has developed a chocolate fondant that combines innovative flavour profiles with the finest ingredients to satisfy the palates of their well-travelled and sophisticated clientele. Here, only the finest Belgian chocolate is used. This is a rich, dark chocolate containing 54% cacao. The dessert is served with a chai tea ice cream, dulce de leche and assorted berries.

Café del Sol, Honeydew, Johannesburg

Each fondant is baked to order to ensure that the sponge is light and perfectly cooked with a liquid core of dark chocolate. At Café del Sol Classico, the fondant is served with a fragrant orange ice cream. This evokes the Amalfi Coast and the abundance of amazing citrus flavours available across the Mediterranean basin. If orange and chocolate is a winning flavour combination for you, then this fondant will hit all the right notes.

Brasserie de Paris, Waterkloof, Pretoria

This bastion of fine dining, at the heart of the diplomatic hub of Africa, is housed in the iconic Karl Jooste House. The architect, Karl Jooste, a contemporary and friend of Le Corbusier, designed and built his home in the suburb of Waterkloof. Today, this beautifully detailed heritage building houses one of Pretoria’s landmark restaurants. Their chocolate fondant is served with a coffee tuile, Fabbri cherry, coffee ‘soil’ and vanilla pod ice cream. This creates an interplay between the warm chocolate centre, rich coffee aromas and the sweetness of real vanilla.

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