Chocolate decadence
Hearty winter puddings
I always enjoy entertaining at home, and whenever friends come for dinner I love to serve a decadent pudding.
This self-saucing chocolate pud is rich and dark, with the addition of ground almonds (although you could substitute these for hazelnut or almond meal) and rich coffee.
It is simple to put together, and easy to change up to suit your preferences – for example, if you don’t like coffee switch the coffee powder for two teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Choose a liqueur that suits your palate and will complement the chocolate and coffee – anything from Amaretto or Frangelico to Baileys, or even Malibu for a real flavour twist.
Because the pudding makes its own sauce the coffee and chocolate sauce is optional – but it makes a great separate ‘‘quick-fix’’ dessert solution to keep in the fridge to reheat and pour over vanilla bean icecream. Once again, the flavours can be swapped out – I often make this sauce without coffee, and with orange zest, cinnamon and a hit of chilli powder, but you could add rose water, ginger or lime zest.
Chocolate, coffee and almond self-saucing pudding
Serves 8-10 Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking: 35-40 minutes
❚ 50g melted butter plus 10g butter
❚ 1 cup whole milk
❚ 3 tablespoons ground instant coffee
❚ 2 eggs
❚ 1 cup self-raising flour
❚ 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
❚ 1 teaspoon baking powder
❚ 1 cup ground almonds ❚ 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
❚ Vanilla bean icecream or softly whipped cream to serve Topping:
❚ 2⁄3 cup brown sugar
❚ 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
❚ 2 tablespoons ground instant coffee
❚ 1 3⁄4 cups boiling water
❚ 2 tablespoons liqueur such as Frangelico or Amaretto
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and lightly grease a two-litre capacity baking dish with the 10 grams of butter.
Put the melted butter, milk, coffee and eggs into a jug and whisk to combine. Sieve the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl and add the almonds and brown sugar. Mix well to combine. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Fold together until well combined and pour into the prepared baking dish.
For the topping, put the brown sugar, cocoa powder and coffee in a jug. Add the boiling water and liqueur and whisk to combine. Gently pour this over the pudding mixture, over the back of a large tablespoon.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the pudding has risen and is cooked through. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving with vanilla bean icecream or softly whipped cream. For ultra decadence, serve extra coffee chocolate sauce on the side.
Decadent coffee and chocolate sauce
Makes: 1 1⁄4 cups Preparation: 3 minutes Cooking: 1-2 minutes
❚ 200ml cream
❚ 150g 70 per cent dark chocolate, roughly chopped
❚ 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
❚ 2 tablespoons liqueur such as Frangelico or Amaretto
Put the cream in a microwave-proof jug and heat in bursts until simmering. Drop in the chopped chocolate and leave to sit for one minute. Add the coffee powder and liqueur and whisk until smooth. If necessary, give a few further brief bursts in the microwave to ensure the chocolate is fully melted.
Serve over the icecream flavour of your choice – vanilla bean, berry, chocolate and coffee all work particularly well.