Sunday, 31 October 2010

Chocolate Denver Pudding

Oh dear, another recipe where I fear I have to advise dieters to look away now.  But honestly, this is much lower in fat than last week's butter-fest pear cake with fudge sauce.  (OK, we won't mention the sugar content......).  Basically, this is a self-saucing pudding, made by mixing up a light batter, topping it with sugar and cocoa, and pouring cold coffee over.  When I first made it, many, many moons ago, I remember panicking and thinking "What the...?" but it works, like magic.  The cocoa and coffee cobine to form a gorgeous sauce on the bottom and the sponge rises to the top.  If you like chocolate fondant puddings, you'll love this, and SOOOO much easier to do.  No eggs, too, so suitable for egg-allergy sufferers or vegans, if you replace the butter and milk with a non-dairy alternative.  So, not too bad for you after all!  OK dieters, you can look now.
Recipe (from Sainsbury's Winter Pudding book 1986 - out of print sadly).  This serves 4-6 and is rich, so small portions are all that's needed.  Nice cold the next day if leftovers

50g butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 75g caster sugar, 125g plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder,6 tablespoons milk and a few drops good vanilla essence.  Topping 50g dark brown soft sugar, 50g caster sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 100ml cold coffee made with two teaspoons of instant coffee or left-over strong filter coffee

Place the butter and cocoa in a pan over a medium heat and stir until melted and combined.  Stir in the sugar, flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla until well combined.  Turn the mixture into a deep greased 20cm square or round oven-proof dish.  For the topping, combine the sugars and cocoa and sprinkle over the batter, then pour over the cold coffee.  It will look dreadful, but bear with me.  Bake in a preheated oven 170C fan oven or Gas 4, for 40 minutes.  Serve with cream, if liked, but for once I think it is better without.

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