These mini chocolate puddings are sweet, dark pots of heaven. Small portions but they're so rich, it's all you need.
They were created by one of our best loved Italian chefs, Gennaro Contaldo. He loves chocolate puddings for their seductive quality - in fact, he once tried to seduce Antonio Carluccio for their show, Two Greedy Italians. We're pretty sure you could seduce anyone with this pudding. The best thing is, it's so quick to make, with just four ingredients and a pinch of salt, you really can have it on the table in 20 minutes. If you get, get some really cook quality chocolate for this, with a high percentage of cocoa solids. It will really impact on the taste.
Ingredients
250g good-quality dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
125g butter, plus extra for greasing
6 eggs, separated - you'll need 4 yolks and 6 whites
50g sugar
Salt
WEIGHT CONVERTER
to
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Lightly grease 6 x 6cm ramekin dishes with butter.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.
In a second bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 30g of the sugar until creamy. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter.
In another clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar and a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture until well amalgamated.
Divide the mixture between the ramekin dishes and bake in the oven for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven, tip the puddings out onto individual plates or leave in the ramekin dishes and serve immediately.
Top tip for making Gennaro Contaldo's mini chocolate puddings
Gennaro says: 'The puddings are best eaten straight away, however you can always heat them up from cold for a few seconds in the microwave or in a hot oven instead if necessary.'
Gennaro Contaldo is an extremely talented Italian chef, beloved in the UK. He’s also known for his association with his British protégé Jamie Oliver, credited for teaching Jamie everything he knows about Italian cooking.
His inspiration to cook in the UK was partly due to the high availability of game and fungi, which was reminiscent of his time in his youth spent hunting and foraging with his father and grandfather. The classic Italian style really can’t be beaten and we especially love Gennaro Contaldo’s alpine pizza!
Having started working in local restaurants since the age of 8, Gennaro really knows his stuff and has published many books over his career all filled with delicious Italian recipes.
Gennaro is a very busy chef and spends time teaching masterclasses at Jamie Oliver’s cooking school, as well as making regular appearances on ‘Saturday Kitchen’, and his own show with fellow Italian chef Antonio Carlucci ‘Two Greedy Italians’. Gennaro loves to spend his downtime cooking with his family at his cottage in Norfolk.
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