Chocolate Pudding for traditional Christmas Pudding Haters with Hot Chocolate Sauce

By á-6184

Christmas pudding isn’t for everyone and, even though I have faith in my pudding’s ability to convert, there’s no point nagging or, indeed, fighting against real, die-hard antipathies. Besides, I have never met a child who likes Christmas pudding, and it seems unfair not to give a treat to everyone.

Ingredients

• PUDDING:
• 175 grams plain flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 40 grams cocoa powder
• 175 grams caster sugar
• 175 grams soft butter
• 60 millilitres plain yoghurt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 125 grams milk chocolate, chopped
• 125 grams dark chocolate, chopped
• 250 millilitres double cream
• 75 grams golden syrup
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 110mins
Adapted from nigella.com

Preparation

Step 1

You will need a 1.7 liter / 3 pint heatproof plastic pudding basin with lid.

Butter your heatproof plastic pudding basin, remembering to grease the lid, too.

Make sure you have adequate boiling water in a pan (or a conventional steamer) on the hob to steam the chocolate pud.

Put the flour and cocoa powder into a processor and blitz to get rid of any lumps.

Add all the remaining pudding ingredients to the processor and blitz, for longer this time, to mix.

Take the lid off, scrape it down, then put the lid back on for 3 more long pulses, scrape the chocolate batter into the prepared basin, smooth it down (the batter will come only halfway up the basin) and put on the lid.

Wrap the basin tightly in foil, so no water could possibly get in, and steam in the boiling water in the pan or steamer for 1½ hours (by which time the pudding will have risen to about 4cm / 1½ inches below the lid).
To cook it for longer will do no harm.

To make the sauce, which can easily be done before you eat, and reheated just before you serve the pudding, put all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan and place over a gentle heat to melt, stirring every now and again and then whisking, off the heat, at the very end, to combine smoothly.

When the pudding is ready, remove it carefully from the pan or steamer without burning yourself, then unwrap from its foil casing, un-click and remove the lid.

Put a plate, or a stand, with a slight lip, on top, flip both upside down, so plate and pudding are the right way up, and wiggle off the basin.
Pour some hot sauce over the pudding, so that it just covers the top and falls in glossy, licking drips down the side, and pour the rest of the sauce into a jug or bowl to be served with a spoon.