BAKED DARK CHOCOLATE ‘MILLIONAIRE’ PUDDING

My take on the ever-popular chocolate fondant pudding – but baked in a cast iron dish and with virtually no flour in the recipe.

This can be prepared in advance, making it a great sharing pudding for a dinner party. We bake it, in lovely individual Staub cast iron dishes, to order – it only takes about six minutes.

It’s been on the menu at the Pipe and Glass virtually since day one, with the flavourings and ice creams changing with the seasons. This version is a firm favourite of both mine and of our customers, and uses all the delicious elements of a caramel millionaire’s shortbread. We like to serve it with a salted burnt butter ice cream, but it’s equally good served with a cinder toffee ice cream.

For The Shortbread

• Place all the ingredients in a mixer and combine well to form a dough. Wrap in cling film, rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan).
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1cm thick. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 6-10 minutes. Leave to cool.

For The Chocolate Pudding

• Whisk the sugar and eggs together until fluffy and white. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a bain-marie or in a microwave. Once melted, add the chocolate mix to the egg mix and whisk together.
• Gently fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture. Spoon the mixture into individual ramekin dishes or an ovenproof dish and put to one side.

To Serve

• Preheat the oven to 180oC (fan).
• Bake the chocolate mixture for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the dish you are using. The pudding should be soft in the middle and crusty on the surface.
• Place the Carnation caramel into a squeezy sauce bottle. Inject a little caramel into the cooked pudding to create little pockets of runny caramel inside the warm pudding. Dust with cocoa powder.
• Break the biscuits over the top of the pudding to give a crunchy topping. Serve with a scoop of cinder toffee ice cream topped with a little more caramel sauce and a pinch of sea salt flakes.