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Detroit-Made Lava Cakes Featured On Air France Flights (Video)

By Edward Cardenas

ROMULUS (CBS Detroit) - The recipe for Chloe' Sabatier's lava cakes were developed in a Parisian kitchen with her grandmother, and will soon be flying high on Air France.

The Detroit Metropolitan Airport station manager for Air France was at a farmers market about four months ago when he first sampled Sabatier's chocolate lava cakes, which feature a "molten" chocolate center.

After Thomas Walsh tried the cakes, which are known in France as "Fondant au Chocolat," he decided to pitch the idea to Air France officials to add the cakes to the Detroit-Paris meal service.

"Chloe baked the cakes and I got in a plane and flew to Paris," said Walsh, who stated the decision was made to add the delicacy to the daily service between the two cities after airline officials sampled the cakes.

Starting March 1, Air France will offer a trio of freshly baked mini-lava cakes on-board the Detroit-Paris flights with seasonal fruit and a crème anglaise sauce.

The addition of Air France as a customer is the latest step in the growth of Sabatier's business, Chez Chloe.

The Parisian native came to the United States for an internship while studying marketing and communications. While in New York studying she met her boyfriend - a native Detroiter - whom she ended up following back to the Detroit.

Not only did her boyfriend bring Sabatier to Detroit two-years ago, but he also brought her business concept to the city.

"When I moved here I discovered that no one sells lava cakes ... you can't find them easily," said Sabatier, who could only find them in restaurants or frozen in the supermarkets where they are "not good."

She started her company, Chez Chloe, and began making and selling the cakes at farmers markets, filling private orders and catering orders.

Her clients now include grocery stores, wedding parties, bridal showers and couples orders.

"I am trying to bring to the American culture something different," said Sabatier, who wanted to introduce not only a unique cake but also a different way of enjoying the dessert.

She said the cakes are best served warm, with a side of ice cream.

"It's all about the moment and the experience around it. That is something we do in France a lot," she said.

Chez Chloe's lava cakes can be found Saturdays at Eastern Market, Treat Dreams in Ferndale and other retail locations.

But being selected to bake the cakes for Air France flights is one of Sabatier's biggest honors.

"It's amazing," she said of the partnership. "I always fly Air France."

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