the hungry mum

Winter is here! I think I am the only person in Sydney celebrating the cold snap – most of my friends look at me aghast when I tell them how much I adore the cooler weather.

Boots. Scarves. Coats – fashion is so much more chic when the temperature falls. Another thing that it is better in winter than summer – desserts. In the heat you are really limited to ice-cream, fruit or anything else that requires minimal time in the hot kitchen. Come winter and the kitchen is exactly where I want to be, making cakes, baking brownies and stirring home-made custard. And self-saucing puddings.

Self-saucing puddings are just magic – a simple pudding is topped with a sprinkle of sugar and cocoa then doused with boiling water, which results in a deep, rich sauce.

Growing up we used to make self-saucing puddings in winter all the time and we would all be adamant that we wanted equal quantities pudding and sauce.

My friends from Australian Macadamias recently sent me a massive bag of their delicious macadamias to bake with and I have been going nuts in the kitchen #heHeHe

These delicious nuts are indigenous to Australia and are full of flavour and go perfectly with chocolate. I have loved creating recipes to show off their freshness and taste.

This chocolate macadamia self-saucing pudding is full of flavour. The crunch of the nuts are a perfect foil to the soft, squishy filling of the pudding.

Just a warning – you will want seconds…

Serve with double cream or vanilla ice-cream.

GATHER:

1 cup self-raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

80g butter, melted, cooled

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

50 grams unsalted macadamias

Sauce:

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

1 1/4 cups boiling water

LET’S GET TO IT:

Spray a two litre size glass or ceramic dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 180C and fill the kettle.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, cocoa and sugar.

In a small jug whisk together the egg, butter and milk then whisk into the dry mix. Use a silver spoon to stir together until combined then sprinkle in the macadamias.

Pour batter into dish. Boil the kettle.

Combine the susauce sugar and cocoa together then sprinkle evenly over the top of the pudding. Carefully pour the boiling water evenly over the top then place in oven.

Bake for 30-35 minutes – the top will spring back when it is cooked. Don’t use the inserted skewer trick to test this recipe as the pudding will be wet from the sauce.

Serve immediately.

Tags: baking, chocolate, macadamia, pudding, recipe, self-saucing pudding, winter dessert