(gluten free dairy free egg free and delicious)
Self -Saucing Extra Chocolatey Pudding
One thing the British are excellent at, is making superb winter hot puddings, be they steamed or baked. School lunches, back in my day (Pré Jamie Oliver) were always adorned with delight such as steamed jam roly-poly, steamed syrup pudding, spotted dick, all served with custard.
The British love of a warm sweet treat extends beyond childhood; a recent poll showed the most requested and ordered desert in the UK is sticky toffee pudding.
I was always a steamed Chocolate sponge with chocolate sauce child! we never made steamed puddings at home, I thought it was because my mother didn’t like them. However, it was more about curtailing waistlines than the lack of a sweet tooth, during her latter life mummy loved hot steamed puddings and custard and would tell me with delight about the nursing homes chef’s delightful homemade lemon sponge and vanilla custard!
When my son and I lived in Manchester in the 1990’s we hosted a lot, and equally got invited out, deserts ranged from every variety of apple, and mix fruit pies or crumbles, bread puddings, tarts, but the most enticing of all deserts was this self-saucing chocolate pudding, so easy to make, so moist, fudge like, this desert combines the texture and flavour of a good chocolate cake served straight from the oven, with a rich fudgy sauce, made in one pan, it is always a crowd pleaser. It looks like a warm cake, with its soft crusty top, when you put the serving spoon in it oozes its warm velvety chocolate sauce. Delightful on its own, but paired with homemade dairy free vanilla ice cream, your taste buds will sing!
The beauty of this desert is not only the ease and speed that it can be thrown together, it is fool proof, diary free, so could be served after a meat meal, but contains no eggs, so it is suitable for people with an egg allergy, or vegans.
I always made mine with gluten free flour, however you can use regular plain flour, the recipie multiplies easily to serve a larger amount of guests, and it never ceases to surprise, that how out of some basic ingredients, a taste of pure indulgence will satisfy the most discerning of warm winter pudding connoisseurs!
Ingredients serving 4-6 depending on appetite and degree of chocoholicisim!
- For this recipe I use baking cups for quantity, but if you haven’t got baking cups, use the same size teacup or any vessel.
- The better-quality cocoa powder used the better flavor
- If cooking for celiacs, or people who are gluten intolerant use gluten free baking powder.
For the pudding
1 cup gluten free plain flour.
I teaspoon gluten free baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 desert spoons good quality cocoa powder (Dutch, or organic)
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract
60 grams plant butter or Tomor
½ cup plant milk. (preferably not coconut as it will spoil the consistency)
For The Topping
½ Cup brown sugar
1.5 grams or 1.5 desert spoons of good quality cocoa powder (see note above)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract
1.5 cups or 375ml of boiling water
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/375 F Gas mark 4
- Grease a baking dish or Pyrex dish with plant butter. It needs to be at least 1.6litre or 6 cup size
- Empty out the kettle and refill it with fresh water ready to boil
- Melt the plant butter in the microwave and set aside
For the cake -Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder, place it in a large mixing bowl, stir it together combining the dry ingredients very well, then make a well in the middle, add the melted plant butter, vanilla, and plant milk, mix with a wooden spoon or a hand mixer until its smooth, put all the mixture into the prepared baking dish, evenly.
For the Topping
Boil the water
In a measuring jug, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla, start adding the boiling water, bit by bit mixing it so it isn’t lumpy, mix it well so everything is combined and smooth, work quickly so the topping is still hot then pour the liquid carefully not too fast over the chocolate cake batter, covering it all. DO NOT STIR IT INTO THE CAKE BATTER
Place the dish into the middle of the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes.
You cannot test this pudding the normal way, but after 30 minutes take it from the oven, check if it is springy to touch, and the top has formed a crust, depending on the depth of your oven dish it will depend on the cooking time. Don’t overcook it but there should be no evidence of the liquid topping on the top of the pudding.
Take the pudding from the oven, and let it sit for two to three minutes to settle, (no longer than five)
Serve hot, when you spoon it magically, the topping will become a rich velvety sauce inside the pudding, keeping it moist and a delight to all who taste it.