If I had to pick my last meal, it would definitely have chocolate as an ingredient — and lots of it. Let’s face it; too much chocolate is barely enough!

One of my favourite winter ‘comfort food’ desserts is chocolate self-saucing pudding; an oldie but a goody. This one is an absolute corker — a coronary in every bowl!

Chocolate self-saucing pudding

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa, plus 2 tblspn extra
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
50g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius (160 degrees Celcius fan-forced).

2. Sift flour and cocoa together into a mixing bowl, then add caster sugar and choc chips and stir through.

3. Mix the melted butter and milk in a jug, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until combined and put into a greased ovenproof dish.

4. In a jug, combine boiling water, extra cocoa and brown sugar stir until combined. Pour over the cake batter — if you pour it over the back of a spoon, it won’t disturb the cake layer, giving a better-looking finished pudding.

5. Cook for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven. The pudding is cooked when the surface springs back when pressed lightly.

5. Let the pudding rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Transfer to bowls and top with cream or ice cream.

At a recent family morning tea, Kerrie had baked up a storm and we are still trying to work off the extra inches —but hey, was it worth it!

Here’s the first instalment of the recipes she so kindly consented to share. These chocolate tarts are absolutely devine.

Stay tuned for more goodies in coming days!

CHOCOLATE TARTS

(Makes 18 tarts)

INGREDIENTS:

Tart bases:

1 cup wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup ground almonds

(also nice to add some crushed walnuts if you have them)

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

125g melted butter

Grease standard-sized muffin tins. Mix all ingredients together and press mixture into the base of each muffin tin hole and up the sides.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 180°C (160°C  fan-forced).

Chocolate custard:

½ cup caster sugar

2tblsp cornflour

300ml cream

100g dark chocolate

4 egg yolks

METHOD:

Grease standard-sized muffin tins. Mix all the base ingredients together and press mixture firmly into the base of each muffin tin hole and up the sides to form a tart case.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 180°C (160°C  fan-forced).

Combine caster sugar, cornflour and cream in a saucepan. Cook, stirring  constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat and stir for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in egg yolks and chocolate. Stir until the  chocolate melts and is smooth. Spoon the chocolate custard mixture into the tart shells (each tart will hold about one-and-a-half tablespoons of chocolate custard).

Return the filled cases in the muffin tins to the oven for 10 minutes.

Stand for about 10 minutes, then pop the muffin tins into the refrigerator to set completely.

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You will have 4 egg whites left over, which is perfect for making tomorrow’s recipe: a small caramel pavlova!

Thanks, Kerrie!