Hot Chocolate Pudding
Little chocolate puddings, fluffy outside and molten within, a cross between a soufflé and a sponge pudding.
Little chocolate puddings, fluffy outside and molten within, a cross between a soufflé and a sponge pudding.
- Carbohydrate 0.5775 g
- Cholesterol 317.25 mg
- Fat 7.455 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 9.435 g
- Saturated Fat 2.32425 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (75g)
- Sodium 105 mg
- Sugar 0.5775 g
- Trans Fat 1.25025 g
- Calories 107 calories
Step-by-step
- Set the oven at 200°c/Gas 6 (390 degrees F). Lightly butter 4 small ramekins or ovenproof cups.
- Break the chocolate into rough pieces and leave to melt in a basin suspended over gently simmering water. Let it melt without stirring, occasionally poking any unmelted chocolate down into the liquid chocolate.
- Put the sugar into the bowl of the food mixer, separate the eggs and add the yolks to the sugar. Beat till thick and creamy. Whisk the egg whites till airy and almost stiff.
- Stir the butter into the chocolate and leave to melt then gently stir in the chocolate hazelnut spread. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg and sugar then carefully fold in the beaten egg whites with a metal spoon. Take care not to over mix. Just firmly, calmly mix the egg white into the chocolate making certain there are no floating drifts of egg white.
- Scoop into the four buttered dishes and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes till risen. The tops should be cracked and the centres still slightly wobbly.
Thermal Control in Melting
Direct heat will scorch fine chocolate instantly. Suspending the basin over gently simmering water utilizes steam heat capped at 100 degrees Celsius to break down the cocoa solids smoothly. Leaving the chocolate undisturbed prevents the introduction of moisture and sugar crystallization, which causes graininess. Stirring butter into the warm chocolate lowers the overall temperature while introducing fat emulsions necessary for gloss.
Aeration and Structural Integrity
Volume depends entirely on mechanical aeration. Egg yolks whipped with caster sugar trap microscopic air cells, creating a dense ribbon stage that supports the heavy chocolate mass. Egg whites beaten separately provide secondary lift. Folding these elements requires a metal spoon to slice through the batter rather than dragging through it, which preserves the trapped gas bubbles required for the sponge-like exterior.
Baking Precision
Ramekins demand a high oven temperature of 200 degrees Celsius to rapidly set the outer perimeter into a sponge structure before the interior cooks through. Pulling the dishes from the oven at precisely 12 to 15 minutes ensures the centers retain a molten texture. Surface cracks appearing across the top serve as the primary visual indicator that the structural proteins have coagulated sufficiently at the edges while leaving the core fluid.
