Gluten-free Chocolate Orange Fondants Recipe (dairy-free option)

Gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe – a guaranteed gooey melting middle every time! Noboby would know they’re Coeliac-friendly and wheat-free too.

Gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe? Yep – it’s the ultimate dessert and you wouldn’t believe how easy they are to make. So get your ramekins at the ready! This one is super easy to make dairy-free if you need it to be.

What do I look for in a gluten-free dessert? Well.. these!

If someone served this to me in a restaurant as a gluten-free dessert, I’d probably still be posting in Facebook groups about it weeks later.

But when you find out how easy these are to make… you’ll be wondering why you don’t see these on gluten-free menus more often!

You can either serve them up in the ramekins or tip them out onto plates and serve. It’s up to you.

Here’s a few reasons why you need to make this:

Why make my gluten-free chocolate orange fondants?

• A guaranteed gooey melting middle with tons of indulgent chocolate orange flavour.
• Nobody would ever know these are gluten-free – you’ll have to fight to keep the muggles away!
• No xanthan gum required.
• This recipe uses Cadbury chocolate orange buttons which are gluten-free. What a discovery!
• Believe it or not, you can actually make these dairy-free – see the FAQ section to find out what products to use instead.

So, what do my gluten-free chocolate orange fondants taste like?

The exterior is like the softest, lightest, most chocolatey chocolate cake you’ve ever eaten.

(sorry to my secondary school English teacher for describing a chocolate cake as ‘chocolatey’ but it’s midnight and my brain doesn’t work right now)

Then, the middle is SUPER gooey and thick with that unmistakable combo of chocolate and orange. Grate some chocolate orange on top, throw on some choc orange buttons and just watch them melt!

Here’s everything you’ll need for this recipe, keep scrolling until you see the recipe card for the measurements and method ??

Gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe: Ingredients

So I thought I’d kick things off with a little frequently asked questions section – if you just want the recipe, then keep scrolling.

But I’ve thrown in some tips here that will be really helpful if this is your first time making this, or you want to adapt it. So here they are!

Gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe: Frequently asked questions

Can I make this recipe gluten free?

It is gluten free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make that that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten free products. Double check your sprinkles to make sure they’re gf too.

Can I make your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe dairy free?

For starters, make sure you use a dairy-free alternative to butter (like Stork hard baking block) instead of butter. Then swap the chocolate for dairy-free chocolate.

The Cadbury’s chocolate orange buttons I use aren’t dairy-free, but fortunately, dairy-free chocolate orange buttons are surprisingly easy to find.

You can find small bags of chocolate orange buttons in Asda that will do the exact same job. That’s it!

Can I make your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe vegan?

Unfortunately, due to the amount of eggs in this recipe, this isn’t an easy one to make vegan with simple swaps.

You’re welcome to try it using aquafaba (3 tbsp per egg, pre-whisked until frothy) instead of the eggs, but I can’t guarantee the results!

Of course, if you’re gonna give it a try doing so, make sure you follow the steps above to make everything else dairy-free first.

Are your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe nut free?

Cadbury chocolate orange buttons have a ‘may contain’ warning for nuts so omit those – otherwise, this is a nut-free recipe as far as ingredients go.

But of course, make sure you check the ingredients label on ALL the products you use to bake this cake just to be safe.

Even if the products don’t contain nuts, they may have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning due to being produced in a factory that handles nuts.

Is your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe low FODMAP?

No – but it can be! Firstly, ensure your chocolate is lactose-free – most dark chocolate doesn’t actually contain milk so you should be able to easily source some.

I’d recommend omitting the chocolate orange buttons as the dairy-free ones recommended above contain inulin in unknown quantities.

Make those changes and one fondant will be suitable during the elimination phase of the low FODMAP diet.

Are Cadbury chocolate orange buttons gluten-free?

Yes, Cadbury chocolate orange buttons are gluten-free! That’s right, no gluten-containing ingredients and no ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, barley etc.

According to Coeliac UK, that makes them safe for us to eat!

Please ensure you check the ingredients when buying them in case things change, but as of the time of writing, these are suitable for a gluten-free diet.

Where can I find Cadbury chocolate orange buttons?

You can find them in any supermarket down the confectionary aisle with all the sharing bags of chocolate.

What size ramekins should I use to bake your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants?

I actually use these ramekins from Tesco and also, these ones from Asda too.

They never provide measurements for them, so sorry I can’t provide them here. I’ll measure my own ASAP and let you know the details!

If I plan to tip them out onto a plate to serve I usually cook them in mini pudding tins, like these ones.

Can I make this in a big ramekin or baking dish?

You can, but I wouldn’t recommend using anything much bigger than a small ramekin (linked above).

This is more of a single-serve dessert, not one where you can make one big fondant and cut it up. It’ll be a mess!

Also, if your ramekin is considerably larger than mine, then you won’t know exactly how long to bake them for. They’ll need longer, but I can’t advise you exactly how long you should bake them for!

Can I make your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants in a food processor or standing mixer? Can I make it by hand?

I wouldn’t recommend a food processor for this one. An electric whisk is only needed to whisk the eggs and sugar here and that’s it.

So yes, you can also make this by whisking the eggs/sugar by hand.

Do I need weighing scales to bake your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants?

In short… yes, yes and yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any my recipes without them.

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities and for me, baking is all about consistency and precision. I want you to make this recipe and for it to turn out EXACTLY like mine did.

For example, adding too much flour can make things dry and crumbly, whereas not adding enough sugar means it’ll lose its crisp exterior. I don’t want you to be disappointed, so please weigh your ingredients!

I’d recommending using digital cooking scales like these so you know you’re getting an accurate measurement and replicating my recipe as accurately as poss.

Can I make your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants without sugar?

I can understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but sugar is integral to the structure of this bake – it’s not just for adding a sweet taste.

Sugar helps to create the overall structure and texture of the fondant and since it’s so crucial to get it right… I 100% wouldn’t recommend removing it.

So yeah, remove/reduce the sugar at your own risk!

Can I make this recipe using other gluten free flours like buckwheat flour or coconut flour?

There’s a big difference between ‘gluten free plain/self-raising flour’ and a *singular* type gluten free flour.

When I say ‘gluten free plain or self-raising flour’ in a recipe, I mean a BLEND of gluten free flours, not just one, singular flour. I buy mine down the free from aisle of my local supermarket.

Definitely go for a gluten free flour blend.

Does this recipe need xanthan gum?

You’ll see xanthan gum in a lot of my recipes as it’s often an essential ingredient in gluten free baking. But not with this one – it’s not required!

There’s quite a few eggs in this one and they’re more than enough to bind everything together.

How long can I keep your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants for?

I’ve kept them for around 4-5 days in an airtight container. Of course, they’ll definitely need to be reheated before you enjoy them again.

I reheat them for 1-2 minutes in the microwave at 900W for that ‘fresh out of the oven’ taste.

Can I freeze your gluten-free chocolate orange fondants?

Of course! I’ve frozen them for up to a month and after allowing them to fully thaw, you’d never know they were frozen. One fondant should take around 3-4 hours to thaw at room temperature.

After thawing, you can reheat them for 1-2 minutes in the microwave at 900W.

How do I know when my chocolate orange fondants are done?

That’s the tricky thing about fondants… you can’t poke them with a skewer to check!

You’re looking for a nice, fully-formed chocolate cake-like exterior. But that doesn’t mean that you should pull them out of the oven as soon as you see that!

Remember: too long in the oven and they’ll be like chocolate cake in the middle – not long enough and they’ll likely be all melting middle and not a lot else.

So stick to the oven temperature and timing in the method and you’ll be fine.

Troubleshooting

My gluten-free chocolate orange fondants weren’t gooey in the middle – it was just like chocolate cake.

That means your oven was too hot, or they were in the oven too long.

Cooking time and temperature is key when making fondants as we’re technically only baking them long enough for the exterior to solidify.

Any longer than necessary and you’ll start baking the middle too!

My gluten-free chocolate orange fondants fell apart when I removed them from the ramekins!

That means your oven wasn’t hot enough OR you didn’t bake them long enough.

You need to give the fondants long enough time in the oven to form their exterior to support that gooey middle.

If they don’t get long enough, there will be too much gooey middle for the exterior to hold.

Gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe: Method

Ok, so here’s a printable version of my gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe. Please remember to give it 5 stars if you tried it and enjoyed it as it helps people know it’s worth trying too! ⭐️ Feel free to leave your written reviews in the comments below this post.

Thanks for reading all about my gluten-free chocolate orange fondants recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!

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Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

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