Soft-centred Chocolate Pudding with Coffee Cream

Soft, gooey, warm and chocolate - exactly what the doctor ordered!

Sigh, less than two months to go before the onset of spring! It’s painfully obvious that I’m not one to enjoy the colder months of the year. But then again, there is the food. Yes, it’s a cruel irony that I would love eating and cooking winter foods in my least favourite season of the year! Hot roasts, warm desserts, soups and hearty, stodgy meals…it’s the perfect payoff to suffering from blistery cold mornings and ever freezing toes.

Speaking of desserts…I don’t need to tell you that chocolate is the ideal antidote to a severe bout of the winter blues. Especially if it’s warm, decadent and soft centred…be still my heart!

This soft centred chocolate pudding is the most fundamental cure for winter sickness and debilitating sweet cravings. No need for pretty-on-the-plate fanfare; just turn it out warm and drench it in the cream. Or if you wish, eat it straight out of the ramekins and pour in the cream as you wish. Either way works for a quick hit of sugar sustenance.

Turn over and drench - satisfaction guaranteed

I don’t think I need to remind you not to overbake the pudding, as it is the fudgy soft-centre that’s the highlight. And if you prefer to bake it for a less amount of time for a gooier, lava-like chocolate innard, then more power to you! As a refreshing change from a rich accompaniment of the chocolate sauce variety, this pudding is heavenly combined with a cool coffee cream tonight. After all coffee and chocolate are old friends. And sometimes, you’re just not in the mood for some rich on rich action.

At least now we can brave the cold winter, if only for one night.

Ingredients

Makes 4 x 250ml ramekins or 6 x 175ml

125g unsalted butter
200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
½ cup (117gm approximately) of caster sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbl plain flour
2 Tbl of hazelnut meal

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C and grease your ramekins well.

Place the butter and chocolate in a pan and melt over a gentle heat until melted and combined.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour and hazelnut meal in a large bowl until it’s well mixed.

Slowly pour in the chocolate and butter into the egg mixture while whisking constantly.

Pour into the ramekins two-thirds of the way up and place on a baking tray.

Bake for around 10 minutes (or 15 if you’re using the larger ramekins). Puddings are ready when the edges have risen and cracked a little but the centre is still quivering and slightly wobbly.

Remove from the oven and let it rest.

To serve, run a palette knife carefully around the edges of the warm ramekin to loosen and invert onto a plate. If the ramekins were well greased then the puddings should just pop out.

Pour over as much of the coffee cream as you want (I won’t judge) and enjoy. Alternatively you could serve it in the ramekins itself and pour the cream into it.

Coffee Cream

250ml pouring cream
about 2-3 Tbl of cold (preferably refrigerated) brewed espresso
2 Tbl sugar or to taste (optional)

Whisk the cream a little until slightly thickened but still pouring consistency. Add the espresso coffee and sugar to taste and mix through. For extra indulgence you could also add a tablespoon or two of a chestnut or hazelnut paste. Refrigerate until ready to use.