{self-saucing chocolate pudding in hermie}

So, I've made the sticky date pudding to death now and the family is wanting something else. Firstly, chocolate comes to mind. Who doesn't like chocolate? I've been looking through my recipe books and have come across one such recipe that ticks all the boxes. 
Easy? Yes. 
Quick? Yes. 
Chocolate? Yes. 
Yummy? Yes...

The recipe is from the "Australian Gourmet Traveller - Chocolate" book and I have tweaked and converted it to be made in the Thermomix. It's a great recipe that can be made with standard pantry and fridge ingredients. I don't find it too chocolately and for those chocoholics out there, you could make it richer by adding pieces of chocolate throughout the mixture before baking in the oven.

80 grams butter, softened
150 grams self raising flour
15 grams cocoa + 15 grams cocoa
70 grams raw caster sugar
125 grams milk
1 egg
100 grams brown sugar
300 grams hot water

extra butter to grease ovenproof dish
pouring cream to serve

1. Pre-heat oven to 170C.
2. Place brown sugar and 1 lot of cocoa in TM bowl. Mix closed lid position/ 2-3 times turbo button. Place aside for later.
3. Mill sugar 3 secs/ speed 9.
4. Add flour and other lot of cocoa. Mix closed lid position/ 2-3 times turbo button.
5. Add egg, butter and milk. Mix 5 secs/ speed 5.
6. Spoon into dish. Sprinkle over reserved sugar and cocoa mixture.
7. Gradually pour over the hot water , over the back of a spoon, onto pudding.
8. Cook in oven for 40 minutes or until sponge top is cooked.
9. Serve immediately with a good amount of cream.

Serves 4-6 depending on how greedy you are :-)

Bon Appetit xx

Tips: If you want to make this a mocha pudding, add a double shot of coffee at step 7 to infuse the chocolate sauce.

{sticky date pudding in hermie}

I love a good dessert and I love it even better when I find one that is easy and delicious. So much so that this sticky date pudding is going to make it on the menu at my next dinner party. It is sticky, sweet (but not too sweet) and the sauce is the perfect accompaniment without being sickly. My husband does not have a sweet tooth and he loves this which means it must be good! Personally, I would say that it would be the best recipe that I have tried so far from the "Everyday Cooking" cookbook by Thermomix. Here is it below with a few tweaks.

Pudding:

200 grams pitted dates (like Medjool Dates)

300 grams hot water

2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

170 grams raw sugar (I use 150 grams)

60 grams unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

170 grams wholemeal SRF

cream for serving

Sauce:

125 grams full fat pouring cream

100 grams brown sugar (I use 80 grams)

65 grams unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 20cm square cake tine and line base with baking paper.

2. Place dates in TM bowl and chop 8sec / speed 7. Scape down sides.

3. Add water and mix 10sec / speed 4.

4. Add bicarb soda and mix 3sec / speed 2. Set aside. Clean and dry TM bowl. If you are lucky enough to have a second TM bowl, just use that.

5. Place sugar into clean TM bowl and mill 10 sec / speed 9. If using rapadura, skip this step.

6. Insert butterfly. Add butter and mix 10sec / speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix until creamy (about 1 minute). While butterfly is still rotating, add eggs through the MC hole. Remove butterfly.

7. Add vanilla, flour and date mixture.

8. Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or, until golden brown. Remove from oven and sit for 10 minutes. 

9. Slice into 9 square serves and top with sauce and cream.

To make the sauce, add all ingredients to TM bowl and cook 5-7mins/ 80C/ speed 4. This produces quite a runny sauce so I cooked this for a further 2mins with the MC removed.

Serves 9 (the book states 12 but we love big slices)

Bon Appetit xx

Tip: We're only a little family so we did not eat this in 1 sitting. To reheat, place 1 serve topped with cold sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds. Test if it is hot enough and blast in 5 second increments until hot enough. If you don't want to use the microwave, reheat using steam in the Varoma until piping hot while you are making your dinner in the Thermie.