Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding is a classic dessert that everyone should know! One batter magically transforms into a moist chocolate cake with a beautiful chocolate sauce. Quick enough for a midweek treat, and a crowd pleaser for dinner parties.
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
I started the week off with Cottage Pie, wedged in a Stovetop Mac and Cheese on Wednesday and am finishing off the week with this Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding.
It seems that this week was Comfort Food Week here on RecipeTin Eats and I missed the memo. My own memo.😂
When I was younger, I was so fascinated with self saucing puddings. I always thought they were magical. One batter transforming into a cake that looks so innocent when it comes out of the oven, then when you break into it – boom! Eyes light up at the sight of all that chocolate sauce!!!
I should qualify that statement actually, it’s a little more than one batter. But not much more! All it takes is sprinkling sugar + cocoa on top of the batter and pouring over hot water. This mixture then sinks to the base of the dish as it bakes, passing through the cake making it sooooo moist (I love this thought!), and it reduces down to become a sauce.
You see in the photo above how I am pouring the hot water over the back of a spoon? The purpose of this is to soften the fall of water onto the sugar topping, to try to keep the surface as even as possible so the surface of the pudding is as even as possible when it comes out of the oven.
I’m not an expert at this part. Also, my recipe uses a slightly higher water to sugar ratio than most classic recipes because I like to have a sauce that is actually a bit like sauce, rather than a thick sludge. Mind you, sludge still tastes fabulous! It’s just a matter of preference.
So because I use slightly more water, the top of my pudding is not as perfectly smooth. Less water = smoother surface = less sauce. 🙂
See? Here’s my sauce. It’s pourable. But thick, not watery. You can actually scrape some off the bottom of the baking dish and pour it over.
I’ve never been embarrassed by the nubbly top of my puddings but if I was, I’d just dust it with icing sugar.
The pudding really is cake-like so you could in fact slice it and serve it like cake, then use a spoon to drizzle each slice with the chocolate sauce.
But tradition is to use a spoon to serve Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding. Scoop out big dollops of it so you get cake and sauce in each spoonful. It doesn’t look as neat as slicing, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding is just made with cocoa powder, no chocolate. I’m sure there are richer versions around with the addition of chocolate chips. But the traditional way is so darn good, I have no urge to stray!
I like to serve pudding with ice cream or cream, and usually some fresh strawberries or other fruit, just to break it up and add a pop of colour.
Easy enough for midweek. And a crowd pleaser for company. I am totally and utterly in love with Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding! – Nagi x
More cosy warm desserts for cold winter nights!
Apple Crumble – personal favourite!
Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Recipe video! And don’t worry, though you’ll see Dozer plodding over for a taste test, he didn’t get any. No chocolate for dogs!
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Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
Ingredients
Topping
- 1 cup (175g) brown sugar , loosely packed (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder , unsweetened (Note 2)
- 1 1/4 cups (315ml) boiling water
Batter
- 1 cup (150g) plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup (70g) white sugar , preferably caster/super fine but ordinary ok
- 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder , unsweetened (Note 2)
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
- 50 g / 4 1/2 tbsp butter , melted
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170C/335F (standard) / 150C/305F (fan forced / convection).
- Grease a 5 – 6 cup baking dish with butter. (Note 3)
- Topping: Whisk brown sugar and cocoa in a bowl, set aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, caster sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the butter and milk, then whisk in the egg and vanilla.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined – it will be a thick batter.
- Spread into baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar / cocoa mixture. Shake gently to spread out thinly.
- Carefully pour the hot water over the back of a dessert spoon all over the top of the pudding – see photo in post or video below recipe. (Note 4)
- Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when poked lightly. The top will be a bit crusty, like the top of brownies.
- Remove from oven, stand for just a few minutes (no more!), then serve immediately. (Note 5)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
He hates floor-mopping day even more than I do because I make him wear socks while I enjoy the feeling of clean floors for a few hours….
sooooooo good. im lazy, so instead of putting the sugar and cocoa on top and putting hot water on it, I just make my own sugar-cocoa-water sauce and pour it on top. much easier and works in the same magical way
I made this last night for Christmas in July. I love that you can change the serving size and it changes the recipe for you. The recipe for 12 serves made a prefect ratio of pudding to sauce. Thanks! Dessert was a hit!
Wanted a quick dessert for a nice occasion and this was just perfect. Based on other reviewers and knowing Nagi has a sweet tooth, I halved the sugar and it was plenty sweet for us.
Hands down the best chocolate dessert I have made. The fam loved it.
I doubled the recipe and some enjoyed seconds.
Thanks Nagi, this is the bomb!
So yummy. I was devastated there was no leftover’s the following day as I could not stop thinking about how delicious it was.
It was great, the kids loved it. Hubby and I felt we could go with half the sugar next time though.
Great recipe and thank you, but the baking powder proportions are off. It says 5 tsp for 2 cups of flour.
Can this be frozen?
I forgot the stars!
Thank you so much for your generous recipes. I have made many of them, this chocolate self saucing pudding is a favourite. I have even sized it up for our community meals where we feed up to 80 from our area every week. They have loved it, I have made sure the cooks who come know it’s your recipe and where to find it if they want to cook it. Many of our visitors are homeless though and things like this are a real treat.
Nagi this is delicious will be on my go to’s when I need a quick desert mainly from pantry staples
delicious. we were not ready to eat it straight away. so once it finished cooking, i turned the oven off, left it in the oven with the door open half way to keep it warm, until we were ready to eat.
Fabulous recipe. I quadrupled it to make for a large group, misjudged the size of the dish and had to scoop it into two halfway through the last step and it STILL worked out! Tasted amazing, still saucy with crusty bits! Will make this again – thanks Nagi 😊
Leftovers are so nice served cold with milk yum yum! A naughty breakfast treat for me the next day (very naughty! 😉)
Love this recipe… wondering if anyone has tried to make this as a microwave mug cake recipe? I might have to give it a go sometime!! That would be amazing for a quick individual treat!!
This is a fabulous, quick and easy dessert…do not hesitate to make!!
I havent made choc selfsaucing pudding in a long time and last night i quadrupled the recipe. Baked for an hour. I was short on cocoa for the sauce so added coffee – boom! Perfection! Whst a delight. Served with vanilla ice cream and cream. A wonderful birthday dessert! Quick easy cake. Almost effortless with an amazing delicious reward. Thanks @recipetineats Nagi for another great recipe
Another simple but super delicious recipe by Nagi!! 😊
Could you prepare the batter beforehand and just do the sauce/baking when you’re ready to serve if it’s for a dinner party? And if so, would you pop it in the fridge because of the eggs?
Out of interest, why aren’t the cocoa and sugar dissolved in boiling water and then this mixture poured on top of the pudding before baking? Would this work just as well? What is the reasoning behind sprinkling on the cocoa/sugar and then adding the boiling water?