If you are a long time reader of my foodblog you will know that at present I don't have a working oven. Well . . . I can do a few things in it, but not anything precise such as baking cakes, cookies or roasts. Not quite what I was hoping for a holiday weekend!
I did want to cook us a bit of a special meal, including a dessert. I have a cookbook by the Australian Women's Weekly, entitled "Slow Cooking."
It is a fabulous compendium of recipes to cook long and slow, in the slow cooker (crock pot), stove top or in the oven. I had flagged this Chocolate Fudge Pudding a long time ago, and I thought to myself, there is no time like the present!
I have made Chocolate Fudge Pudding in the oven many times, and its a real favourite, but I had never considered doing it in the slow cooker. (There is also a rice pudding recipe in there I would like to try as well as a bread pudding. Watch this space.
I didn't want to drag out my large slow cooker however, nor did I want to have to deal with oodles of leftovers, so I threw caution to the wind and halved the recipe.
With great success I might add! It worked out beautifully, and was done in roughly 3/4 of the time. I would start checking it halfway through the recommended cook time just to be sure.
Chocolate Fudge Pudding has always been a real family favorite of ours. Its the kind of pudding that goes together simply and then bakes itself pretty much, with the end result being a delicious fudgy cake type of pudding (much like a steamed pudding)
Along with a rich chocolate sauce that bakes like magic at the bottom of the pudding.
I have never met anyone who doesn't like it, including Todd who says he hates chocolate desserts, but managed to put away two helpings!
It is best served warm . . .
When my children were growing up they liked it with cold Vanilla Ice Cream. Todd, he likes his with cream. Its delicious either way!
Chocolate Fudge Pudding
Yield: 6Author: Marie RaynerA delicious gooey chocolate sponge pudding that makes its own sauce. This cooks in the slow cooker. You can very successfully cut this in half for the smaller family or smaller appetites.
ingredients:
- 90g butter (3 ounces) (6 TBS)
- 180ml milk (3/4 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 190g caster sugar (1 cup)
- 225g self raising flour (1 1/2 cups + 2 TBS)
- 2 TBS good quality cocoa powder
- 1 large free range egg, beaten lightly
- 200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
- 2 additional TBS of cocoa powder
- 625ml boiling water (2 1/2 cups)
- pouring cream
- vanilla ice cream
instructions:
- Butter a 4 1/2 liter (18 cup) slow cooker bowl. Melt the butter in the milk over low heat. Let cool for several minutes and then stir in the sugar and vanilla. Sift together the flour and first amount of cocoa powder. Stir this into the milk /butter mixture along with the egg, mixing all together well. Pour into the buttered slow cooker bowl.
- Sift together the brown sugar and remaining cocoa powder. Sprinkle evenly over top of the batter in the slow cooker. Pour the boiling water evenly over all.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours or until firm. Remove the bowl from the slow cooker. Let stand five minutes and then spoon out into bowls to serve. Pass the cream or ice cream!
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and then reheat gently in the microwave when you go to serve it. This always goes down a real treat and its nice to know that you can cook it in the slow cooker without heating up the kitchen. Its also nice to know that you can cut the recipe in half and it will still turn out delicious! Happy Easter Weekend!
