The Proof is in the Pudding

Last post for the night! Puddings :D One of my favourite things to enjoy, especially in Christmas, or on cold wintery nights, those rich sauces to go with the warm gooey pudding.

There are so many different varieties, depending also on the occasion or the weather as well. Christmas puddings are full of spices and fruits (reminding me almost of a fruitcake), and after coming out fresh from the oven or boiler, topped off with warm brandy custard or finished off with vanilla gelato... makes my mouth water just thinking of it.

Tonight however, this post is about a different type of pudding. Something a lot simpler... self-saucing puddings. I was about to post a butterscotch self-saucing pudding up a couple of nights ago, but I was too tired. Today I actually made a chocolate self-saucing pudding and it would be a better idea to have a comparison between the 2 of them.

The ingredients for the self-saucing pudding isn't extensive. I have listed below the required ingredients for the chocolate self-saucing pudding. Just searching on Google will enable you to find extensive listings of the different recipes of puddings.

Ingredients:
Cake

• Self-raising flour
• Cocoa Powder
• Dark brown sugar
• Original Baileys liqueur
• Butter
• Milk
• Egg

Sauce

• Brown sugar
• Cocoa powder
• Boiling water

The first time I made a self-saucing pudding, I thought that the dish was absolutely destroyed when I added the running watery sauce on top. However, there is no need to fear as the liquid actually thickens up quite dramatically and sinks to the bottom upon baking.  Below are the photos of the 2 types of self-saucing puddings:

Butterscotch self-saucing pudding

Chocolate self-saucing pudding with a hint of Baileys

The chocolate version looks slightly burnt at the top — it is actually not burnt (the cocoa powder sprinkled on top makes the top appear extremely dark). Both puddings are extremely rich and I highly suggest serving small portions with plain vanilla ice-cream.  Some people aren't extreme fans of chocolate based desserts (rare, I know, but there is always at least one!), so the butterscotch self-saucing pudding would be a good alternative to the chocolate version.

The puddings are best served warm, and because of that, the sweetness of the puddings is also quite evident. Remember to serve it with ample amounts of ice-cream to balance the flavours out. It is a fantastic dish to whip up on a cold winter night after a hearty home cooked meal. Try making them for yourself and let me know how it turns out =)

Note: different alcoholic liqueurs can be substituted, e.g. Amaretto (if you like that almond flavour - serve it with almond and rosewater-infused ice-cream), Kahlua, Frangelico, etc. or if you wish to make a child-friendly version, omit the alcohol altogether. 

Adieu pour aujourd'hui