CHELSEA WHIRL

Reality TV star Lucy Watson rustles up a choccy treat.

This recipe is proof that for former Made In Chelsea star Lucy Watson, going vegan didn’t mean she had to give up puds. “When people ask if I prefer crisps, sweets or chocolate, I always say chocolate,” she states, confidently claiming her recipe for a melt-in-the-middle chocolate fondant “literally tastes like the original”. Feed Me Vegan: For All Occasions by Lucy Watson is published by Sphere.

You’ll need

For the pudding:

● 40ml sunflower oil

● 30g cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting

● 110g plain flour

● ½tsp bicarbonate of soda

● ½tsp salt

● 90g soft dark brown sugar

● 100ml soya milk

● 1tsp instant coffee

● 1tsp red wine vinegar

● 2tsp ground flaxseed For the frozen ganache:

● 100g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids),

● 100ml soya milk

Method

1. To make the ganache, melt the chocolate with the milk in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and combined with the milk.

2. Thirty mins before you serve your fondants, preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan, gas 4). Take four small pudding moulds or ramekins, grease them with oil and dust with a layer of cocoa powder.

3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, bicarb. of soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk, sugar into the dry ingredients. In separate bowl mix the milk, plus 150ml of warm water, the coffee, vinegar, flaxseed and oil. Using the whisk, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the batter combines.

4. Fill each mould to about a quarter with the fondant mix, place a frozen cube of ganache on top. Cover with more fondant mix until just over half full. Gently tap the moulds on the work surface to remove any air bubbles. Put filled moulds on baking tray and bake for14 mins.

5. Remove from oven. Gently release using a round-bladed knife. Put a small serving plate on top and flip upside down. Carefully lift off the mould. Serve immediately with an extra dusting of cocoa powder.