I fell in love with this recipe when it was served to me warm out of the oven in a small copper based pan with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top at Rare Hare, the bistro at Jackalope Hotel in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. Then I became obsessed with finding a recipe to create this dessert at home to pair with Elato Ice Cream. The recipe I settled on is adapted from one my favourite online cooking resources – US based Bon Appetit.

When you eat the cookie warm, just out of the oven, it’s perfect  - with crunchy sides as well as being soft in the middle, finished off with a scoop of Elato on each piece of cookie or in the middle of the whole cookie in the pan. It is made in one bowl with no special equipment, and can be baked in either a 10 inch cast-iron or stainless steel frying pan with a metal handle (including individual copper based pans) or if you want to serve it cold, it can be made in a 10 inch (25 cm) small cake tin lined with paper and removed in slices for serving once cool.

This recipe is also very versatile, as it can also be made gluten and/or sugar free or vegan as well as being able to be pre-made for a dinner party and then placed in the oven when you serve main course. You can also prepare it for the family just before you start making dinner, and then cook and cool it a bit while you make and eat dinner.

Ingredients

Makes 6 large or 8 medium segments from the one giant cookie.

1 cup small roughly chopped chocolate of any kind or discs including Nestle choc bits (180g) as well as sugar free chocolate.

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (100g) or you can also use the equivalent volume of a brown sugar replacement such as from Whole Earth or golden sugar from Lakanto.

⅓ cup white sugar (75g) or you can also use the equivalent volume of a sugar replacement such as from Whole Earth or from Lakanto.

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine at room temperature (45g) or 40g sunflower or other vegetable oil without taste for a vegan version ( or if you don’t have butter or margarine).

¾ teaspoon table salt (optional – especially if using margarine which is salted)

1 x 70g egg, room temperature or the equivalent of one egg if using vegan egg replacer (I used the PB Co egg replacer for the version in the photos)

1½ teaspoons vanilla paste or extract

1 cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour in the version in the photos, which requires the addition of ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum)

¼ teaspoon baking (bicarb) soda

Optional - Flaky sea salt to finish

Instructions

• Preheat to 190 degrees C . Roughly chop chocolate if not already in small pieces and measure 1 cup/180g.
• Using a stand mixer or bowl and spoon, mix brown sugar, white sugar, butter (and salt if you use it), in a bowl until no large lumps remain (about 30 seconds). Stir in egg and vanilla until egg is incorporated and mixture is smooth and runny, about 30 seconds. Add flour and baking soda and mix until dough comes together and no flour streaks remain, about 30 seconds. Stir in ¾ cup chocolate, reserving remaining ¼ cup of chocolate for just before putting in the oven.
• Scrape batter into a 10" cast-iron frying pan (or stainless steel frying pan coated with non-stick vegetable oil spray or apply vegetable oil with a pastry brush and excess wiped off with a paper towel. Pat batter into skillet with damp hands, pressing into an even layer so dough extends to sides of pan. Place remaining chocolate bits evenly over cookie dough and sprinkle with sea salt if you are using it.

• Bake cookie until outer edges are browned and slightly puffed, 20–25 minutes (15–18 minutes for stainless steel). Cut into pieces and serve warm, direct to the table with a scoop of ice cream for each slice or one scoop in the middle of the pan. If serving it cold, wait until it cools to remove from the pan as the cookie  gets firmer and is easier to remove.