Call them molten lava puds, chocolate fondants or bitter chocolate puddings as I have here, they’re one of the best chocolate puddings ever. They’re really easy to make too. Prepare them in advance to make perfect dinner party fare.
There’s a new baking magazine on the block, Baked & Delicious and I was sent the first issue to look at. I’m a complete sucker for cookery books, but in recent years I’ve managed to restrain myself from buying magazines. Now temptation has crossed my path, I’m trying hard to overcome my acquisitive instincts.
Baked & Delicious
Although, the magazine is quite small & slim with only 26 pages, I was quite taken by it. I found it has a clear uncluttered layout and I don’t feel overwhelmed by excessive content. The instructions are clear and simple. But I reckon they sometimes assume a grasp of baking beyond novice level. For example, no mention is made of which part of the oven to bake in. And this is often a critical factor.
As one might expect, the pictures are gorgeous and made me want to get baking straight away. One of the things I particularly liked about this publication is that there is no advertising (other than for the magazine itself). In addition to the recipes, there’s a technical section on making choux pastry and another on getting the best from silicone bakeware.
Each recipe falls into one of seven categories:
- Classic Cakes
- Bread & Savouries
- Patisserie & Fancy Cakes
- Celebration Cakes
- Biscuits & Bakes
- Desserts
- Better Baking Techniques
As well as all of this, each issue comes with some silicone bakeware. The first issue came with six colourful silicone cupcake cases. As a keen user of silicone moulds, this alone is a siren call to subscribe. I haven’t yet used my cupcake cases, but will certainly have occasion to do so.
Retailing at £2.99 per issue (£1.99 for the first issue), this is perhaps not the cheapest way of acquiring recipes. After all, there are only eight recipes in total in this issue. But as most of us know it’s not just about acquiring recipes. It’s the food porn photography, the anticipation of not knowing what’s coming next and the chance of finding something unexpected.
Bitter Chocolate Puddings
Here’s one I wasn’t expecting: bitter chocolate puddings.
It’s not like me to deviate from baking with my favourite wholemeal spelt flour, but these bitter chocolate puddings are an exception. It’s essential to keep the mixture as light as possible, so I use ordinary plain flour for these.
Buy the best chocolate you can afford for these puds. It’s all about the chocolate.
Unlike some of these type of chocolate puddings I’ve made, I managed to tip these out of their cooking bowls really easily. But don’t worry if they get stuck. If you bake them in pretty ramekins, no-one will be any the wiser. And they will taste just as delicious.
One of the really useful things about these bitter chocolate puddings, is that you can keep them in the fridge for a couple of days prior to baking. This makes them ideal for dinner parties. You won’t have to worry about dessert on the day at all. Just remember to pop them into the oven fifteen minutes before you’re ready to serve.
My bitter chocolate puddings are probably not be the prettiest puds you’ve ever seen. In any case my photographs certainly didn’t match those in the magazine. But my goodness are they delicious. Each mouthful is pure heaven.
Crispy on the outside and sweetly molten on the inside, they are rich and velvety. And yes those bitter chocolate notes come through. I can’t imagine many puddings tasting much better than these.
I’ve made molten lava puds before, but I think these are the best yet. Anyway, they left me with a smile on my face for some considerable time. Thank goodness I made four and not just two.
Other Chocolate Pudding Recipes You Might Like
- Blackberry & white chocolate lava cakes
- Chocolate chia pudding
- Mexican chocolate pudding with lime and chilli mango
- Salted butterscotch chocolate fondants
- Self-saucing chocolate pudding
- Sticky toffee chocolate puddings
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these bitter chocolate molten puddings, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I’d also appreciate it if you could rate the recipe. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making lava puddings? If you post pictures of your creations on social media, please use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like even more hot pudding recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Bitter Chocolate Molten Puddings – PIN IT.
Bitter Chocolate Puddings – The Recipe
Bitter Chocolate Puddings
Ingredients
- 125 g dark chocolate (I used 85%)
- 125 g unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 150 g golden caster sugar
- 60 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (2oz) sieved
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot, but not boiling water. Alternatively if you’re able to get a gentle heat, melt directly in a saucepan.125 g dark chocolate, 125 g unsalted butter
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar until thick and pale.2 large eggs, 2 large egg yolks, 150 g golden caster sugar
- Beat in the chocolate mixture.
- Fold in the flour.60 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- Divide the mixture between four buttered small pudding bowls or large ramekins and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Bake at 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6) for 15 mins.
- Turn out onto plates and get stuck in before they cool down too much.
Tracy K Nixon says
Sounds fab! And that bitter chocolate pudding sounds lovely too!
Maya Russell says
Maybe I need to do the butter thing too! Had baked apples this week and poured chocolate sauce over them. Yum!
Maya Russell says
Looks like a good recipe book. (Cupcake silicone moulds don’t work for me as the cake sticks anyway!)
Choclette says
I use silicon moulds for virtually all of my baking and have done for years. But I do always run a butter paper around them before filling just to be safe. I’ve only had problems with sticking a couple of times.
Choclette says
Hazel, let me know what you thought if you do get around to baking these. Just use a really dark chocolate.
Sophie – thank you, you say the nicest things 🙂
Celia – thank you, it was all those egg yolks I think that made it extra special.
figjamandlimecordial.com says
Oh my goodness, that looks diiivine! Definitely a perfect dessert to end a meal on!
sophiesfoodiefiles says
Your chocolate dessert sounds divine & I do feel that your baking result looks fine & ooh so appetizing too!
MMMMMMM,…!!!! 🙂
Hazel says
This magazine sounds awesome! I hate that most magazines are almost half adverts.
Bitter, bitter, bitter… you know I love any bitter dessert! The molten inside sounds so inviting. I think I have to bake these very soon!!
Choclette says
Mia’s Bakehouse – I’m with you on the goo 😉
Gillian – way too nice in fact 😉
Janice – I’ve heard several bloggers now state they don’t like silicone. Can I ask why? I love it.
Grazing Kate – your husband makes a pudding! Lucky you. Have to admit I do use paper cases for cupcakes. Like you, the one time I tried using them direct, some of the cake was left behind. Less delicate things, like muffins generally work though. I’ve never had a problem with cake sticking in the larger cake moulds though.
Brittany – thank you for being so kind.
CC – Not sure, but you should be able to order a subscription at your local newsagent or direct on the internet.
Suman – thank you
Nic – what a lovely thing to say, thank you.
Liz – you’ve got it!
Choclette says
Chele – indeed, diving nose first into this was pretty much what I did.
Rhi – I guess it’s something to do with the fact we don’t use professional food stylists – or am I assuming too much?
Manu – thank you
Johanna – It’s the librarian collector in me – now I just want the complete set.
Dharm – very quick and easy, so worth a go.
Dom – thanks
Joanna – yes, I wonder how hard food magazines have been hit by the proliferation of food blogs and the internet in general?
SE – thanks for leaving a comment
Carol – thank you
Liz says
Gorgeous, definitely one to make very soon, ecstasy on a plate
Nicisme says
Those look better than the ones in the magazine! YUM!
Suman singh says
Lucky you..That chocolate pudding looks AMAZINGLY delicious!
The Caked Crusader says
Ooh – I’ve not seen this for sale anywhere – any ideas who’s stocking it?
Les rêves d'une boulangère (Brittany) says
I think these ARE beautiful! I love the chocolate-mess! I am noting the recipe right now.
Grazing Kate says
I have that ‘too many recipes, too little time’ feeling at the moment so seriously trying to curtail my recipe purchases.
will have to ask your advice re silicone cookware. My only attempts with cupcakes and muffins have left half the precious cake inside the case. What am I doing wrong? They’ve been banished to a dark corner of a drawer and I try not to look at them, and use paper ones instead.
Presumably you’ve tried Nigella’s chocolate pots before? They’re v similar to this recipe – so easy and so scrummy. In fact the only pud that my husband makes.
Janice says
I must resist, I must resist. I am a sucker for a new magazine, but not for silicone bakeware. Your pud looks delicious all squidgy and chocolately. Yum.
Chocolate Here says
Nice Choclette, very nice. Right up my street I think!
Mia's Bakehouse says
The chocolate molten puddings look amazing…. the more gooey in the middle the better I say! One of my my favourite desserts 🙂
carol says
Ooh that looks yummy!
Carol
http://www.dormouseandtheteapot.blogspot.com
http://www.dormouseandtheteapot.com
spontaneous-euphoria says
looks like a wonderful magazine!
Joanna @ Zeb Bakes says
I rarely buy food magazines, I would rather read blogs and invest in cookbooks. I think magazines have a very specific target audience. Their marketing person contacted me about writing about this on my blog but I thought it wasn’t really for me as I wouldn’t buy this in ‘real life’.
You’ve done a good job here though Choclette, and those puddings do look mega tempting.
Dom at Belleau Kitchen says
looks damn fine to me… sounds like a great magazine… nice review x
Dharm says
That looks really good!! Must try it one day
Johanna GGG says
only 8 recipes in 26 pages! what! that just makes me feel short changed without even buying the magazine – like you I try and avoid buying too many magazines – so tempting when in a long supermarket queue but I have too many around the house already – puds look delish though
manu says
Mhhhh sounds yummy!
Rhi says
Thoose sound great, I always find things I cook are never as pretty as they look in the magazine. It’s the taste that counts though!
Chele says
Very jealous lol. Looks like it produces some fab results juding by all the blog posts springing up. That chocolate pud looks like something I’d be able to dive nose first into.