Emelia Jackson’s no-stress, soft-centred chocolate puddings make a deliciously simple dessert

Low fuss but high impact, this crowd-pleasing pudding is both malted and molten.

Emelia Jackson

August 26, 2023

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4-6

Things I love: chocolate pudding. Things I also love: removing the stress from baking. This recipe combines my two loves into one easy, glorious, winter dessert. It’s essentially a riff on a soft-centred chocolate pudding (aka fondant or lava cake). But instead of stressing about cooking it too much or too little, or about unmoulding, we’re just baking and serving individual portions.

Technique of the month: Aerating eggs

You may find many recipes that begin with mixing eggs and sugar together until they’re light and fluffy. Why? For two key reasons. Firstly, it will aerate your batter and create structure. Think of it in terms of a sponge cake: if you don’t properly aerate your eggs, you’ll end up with a dense pancake instead of a light and airy sponge. Secondly, aeration gives your bakes a glossy, meringue-like top. Melt-and-mix brownie recipes usually have a dull and thin crust. But recipes that begin by aerating eggs and sugar will have a thicker, glossier finish.

Ingredients

150g unsalted butter, softened
150g dark chocolate, chopped
2 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
50g malted milk powder
20g cocoa powder
cocoa powder or extra malt powder, to serve
vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Butter or spray 4-6 individual ramekins (or 1 large pudding dish) and set aside.
Step 2
Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in the microwave in 30-second bursts and whisk to combine. Allow to cool slightly.
Step 3
In a stand mixer, whisk together the whole eggs and yolks, caster sugar, salt and vanilla paste until the mixture has doubled in volume and is light and fluffy. This will take about 5-7 minutes. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and mix thoroughly to combine.
Step 4
Sift the malted milk powder and cocoa over the mixture and fold through until just combined.
Step 5
Divide the batter evenly between your prepared ramekins and bake the puddings for 12-15 minutes, or until they are set around the edges but still molten in the centre. If you are baking in a single large dish, this will take closer to 22-25 minutes.
Step 6
To serve, dust with cocoa or extra malt powder – and never forget the ice-cream.

Change the flavour profile by substituting orange zest for malt. iStock

Tips

I’ve melted the chocolate in the microwave here as a shortcut, but if you’re not confident doing this (or don’t own a microwave), a double boiler will do the trick, too.
If you can’t find malted milk powder (usually in the tea and coffee aisle), you can replace it with Milo or leave it out completely.
Change the flavour profile by replacing the malt with orange zest, hazelnut liquor or a shot of strong espresso.