Warm, rich and irresistibly gooey, these molten self-saucing chocolate puddings are the ultimate comfort dessert. As they bake, a luscious chocolate sauce magically forms beneath the soft sponge, creating a decadent treat that’s even better with crunchy toasted hazelnuts and a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of cream. Perfect for cosy evenings, dinner parties or whenever a chocolate craving refuses to negotiate.
Molten self-saucing choc puddings with hazelnuts
Ingredients
Puddings
- 300g self-raising flour
- 60g cocoa powder
- pinch salt
- 160g treacle sugar
- 250ml (1 cup) milk
- 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 120g butter, melted but cool
Sauce
- 60g cocoa powder
- 220g brown sugar
- 450ml boiling water
- 50g ( cup) hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped, to garnish
- double-thick cream/vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)
Instructions
For the puddings, preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease 6 ovenproof ramekins of 250ml (1 cup) capacity each. Place them on an oven tray, which will catch any drips. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt into a medium bowl. Add the treacle sugar and stir well to combine with the flour. Whisk together the milk, vanilla essence, eggs and butter. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and fold through gently to combine. Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins and spread the tops with the back of a spoon (the batter will be quite thick).
For the sauce, sift the cocoa powder into a bowl and add the brown sugar. Mix to combine well. Sprinkle the tops of the pudding batters with the cocoa powder and sugar mixture (divide it among the puddings until it is all used up). Pour the boiling water over the puddings (again, divide it among the puddings until it is all used up). Bake in the prepared oven, 20 – 25 minutes, or until the cake topping is firm and when you dip a spoon into the puddings, there is a chocolate sauce below.
Serve immediately, garnished with chopped hazelnuts and dollops of double-thick cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
