Steamed chocolate pudding recipe

A tasty and traditional steamed chocolate pudding, with a decadent sauce of the top. 

Steamed puddings are about as traditional as British desserts get and this fabulous chocolatey one will remind many people of their childhoods. Maybe it was your favourite school pudding, or maybe a family tradition. Either way, this is a great recipe for recreating the magic. You will need a good couple of hours to prepare this pud - it needs to steam for about an hour and a half. But it's simple to do and worth the wait. It comes with its own delicious sauce, so there's no need for extra cream or ice cream - though both do make a nice cheeky addition. 

Ingredients

For the pudding:

• 100g (4oz) butter, softened
• 100g (4oz) caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 100g (4oz) self-raising flour
• 15ml (1 tbsp) cocoa powder
• 100g (4oz) plain chocolate, melted
• 50g (2oz) pecan nuts, chopped
• 15ml (1 tbsp) milk 

For the sauce:

• 100g (4oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 25g (1oz) butter
• 30ml (2 tbsp) golden syrup
• A few chopped pecan nuts, to decorate

Method

1. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time (add a spoonful of the flour if the mixture begins to curdle). Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and fold into the mixture with the melted chocolate, chopped pecans and milk.
   
2. Butter and line the base of a 900ml (1½pt) pudding basin with a circle of greaseproof paper. Spoon the mixture into the basin and cover with a round of greased and pleated greaseproof paper tied securely with fine string. Cover with pleated foil.
   
3. Steam for 1½ hrs (see tip) until the pudding is risen and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out clean.
   
4. For the chocolate sauce, place all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and leave until melted. Remove from the heat and stir to make a smooth sauce.
   
5. Turn the pudding out on to a plate and pour over some of the chocolate sauce and decorate with chopped pecan nuts. Serve the rest of the sauce separately.
   

Top tip for making steamed chocolate pudding

If you don't have a steamer, crumple a large piece of foil into a thick round and place in the base of a large pan. Sit the pudding basin on the round of foil and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Cover the pan with a well-fitting lid.

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• Chocolate fondant
• Chocolate pudding
• Self-saucing chocolate pudding