A saucy, tasty chocolate orange pudding made in minutes.
Ingredients
Chocolate pudding cake
- 45 grams (1/4 cup) brown sugar
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 140 grams (1 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 25 grams (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 40 grams (1/4 cup) chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Zest of one orange, finely grated
- 75 grams (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, roughly chopped
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Chocolate sauce
- 25 grams (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 15 grams (1 tablespoon) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 and 1/2 cups boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 C (340 F) standard / 150 C (300 F) fan-forced. Set aside an 8-inch cake pan (with high sides) or pie dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, add brown sugar, caster sugar, plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, chocolate chips and salt. Add orange zest. Whisk together by hand.
- In a medium heatproof bowl, add butter. Heat in the microwave, 15 seconds at a time, until smooth and melted. If it’s hot the touch, leave it for a minute or two to cool slightly.
- To the melted butter, add the milk, vanilla extract and egg. Stir with a fork or whisk just to break up the egg yolk.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir by hand using a spatula or wooden spoon until you have a smooth and thick chocolate cake batter. There should be no pockets of flour.
- Transfer the chocolate cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth out the top so it forms one even layer.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder, brown sugar, caster sugar and salt for the chocolate sauce. Whisk together by hand.
- Sprinkle this dry mixture over the top of the cake batter. It should cover the entire top of the cake.
- Stir together the orange juice and the boiling water.
- Hold a large spoon in one hand, and gently pour the boiling water mixture over the back of the spoon and let it drip onto the cake batter. This technique stops the water from disrupting the cake batter underneath.
- Carefully transfer the pudding to the oven and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until it no longer wobbles in the middle.
Notes
Caster sugar AND brown sugar: My recipe calls for two types of sugar in both the cake and the sauce. However, you can use all brown sugar or all caster sugar if that’s all you have on hand.
Orange zest and juice: To make an all-chocolate version, you can skip the orange zest. Just be sure to replace the orange juice with extra boiling water (1 and 3/4 cups total).
Cocoa powder: You can use unsweetened natural cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder for this recipe. I preferred the richness and darkness of Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Chocolate chips: The addition of chocolate chips helps to make the cake even more moist – however, if you don’t have any, just leave them out.
Overbaking: Try not to over-bake your pudding. A gentle bake will ensure your cake bakes through but the sauce remains exactly that: saucy. As soon as it’s ready, take it out and serve.
Storage: Self-saucing pudding needs to be serve straight after it is baked. If left for longer, the sauce will firm up and you’ll miss out on the delightful combination of warm cake, and gooey sauce. Store any leftover pudding in an airtight container in the fridge.
Reheating: To enjoy leftover pudding, simply heat it again using the microwave. The cake will soften and the sauce will loosen again – yum!
Freezing: Unfortunately Chocolate Orange Pudding can’t be made-ahead or frozen without compromising the integrity of the cake and sauce.
