Friday, September 12, 2008
Another leisurely weekend back at home with more opportunities to bake myself up a little fun. Today's aspiration was a Soft-Centered Chocolate Pudding. ONE Soft-Centered Chocolate Pudding. So after selecting a recipe from Design*Sponge, an adorable crafts and DIY website, and throwing the data into a recipe calculator, I crossed my fingers and hoped the reduced "individual-serving" recipe would work just as well. And thank goodness it did, it came out perfect, moist and chocolatey and oh-so-rich in the middle. [I was also very fortunate that I was able to make only one...or else I'm sure I would've devoured all four servings that the original recipe yielded]. I also had to race against time while taking my photos, because as soon as I placed the fresh raspberries on top the delicate ceiling of the pudding slowly began to sink. By the time I was finished all three raspberries had fallen into the warm, gooey center and they tasted heavenly once I fished them out.
Soft-Centered Chocolate Puddings
Makes 4
4 tbs granulated white sugar (60g) + 2/3 cup sugar (160g)
100g butter chopped
200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
2 tbs self-rising flour (30g)*
Icing sugar (powdered) & thick cream, to serve
*To make your own self-rising flour, for each cup of all-purpose flour (125g), add 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5g) of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (2.5g).
Preheat oven to 200°C/390F. Lightly grease 4 x mud australia Limoges porcelain baby noodle bowls (or similar oven-safe bowls). Sprinkle 1 tbs sugar into each bowl and turn so sugar coats inside of the bowl.
Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon for 5 minutes or until mixture is smooth then remove from the heat.
Using electric hand mixer, beat eggs and remaining sugar on high speed until pale and slightly thickened. Pour warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Sift flour over mixture and stir gently to combine. Pour mixture evenly between bowls. Place onto a tray. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until well risen.
Dust with icing sugar and serve with thick cream if desired.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Homemade Bread Pudding
* Many reviews suggested substituting 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar for a richer flavor, the only reason I used all white sugar was because I had ran out of brown sugar the day before
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
To top off the bread pudding I also made a Vanilla Sauce that was recommended by some. Personally, I felt that it was okay, but the rest of my family loved it. My biggest complaint about the sauce is it's consistency and appearance. Maybe in the future I will try to improve the aesthetics of it. Until then, I'm on the lookout for a more appealing topping.
Vanilla Sauce
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the water, stirring until blended. Bring mixture to a boil and continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Serve warm.
For my first post on this blog I was quite frustrated about how difficult it was to take an appetizing photo of this dish. All my favorite food blogs have the most adorable pictures and hopefully, with a little practice and some experimentation, some day I'll be able to deliver.
My biggest worry for my blog thus far: will I ever be able to resist eating the sample plate after all the photos are taken?
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