Chocolate
The most famous, and popular, of the self-saucing puddings, it’s easy to understand why this is such a classic. The key to a perfect chocolate pudding is to handle the ingredients with care, ensuring that the sponge stays nice and light. Also, make sure you don’t overcook the pudding, or you’ll lose the hot sauce bubbling below. Also consider making a few variations including:
- For a mocha pudding add 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder to the boiling water before pouring over the pudding.
- For a choc nut pudding fold 80 g chopped nuts (pecans, almonds and hazelnuts are our picks) through the chocolate batter before pouring into the baking dish.
- Quick Self Saucing Pudding
- Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
- Individual Self Saucing Chocolate Puddings
Lemon
A self saucing pudding isn’t always about excess, and with this light citrus version you can have all the comfort of the pudding without the heaviness. In fact, this is one of the only puddings that is just as welcome in the warmer months as it is in the depths of winter. A few other things to keep in mind include:
- While lemon is the classic flavour, try adding lime as well for a brighter flavour. Passionfruit is also a welcome addition as its tang is perfect with the lemon juice.
- Try to cook this pudding in a glass dish to ensure you don’t lose all the beautiful custard in the bottom of the dish.
Bread and butter
This great British classic is perhaps the most comforting of all the winter puds. Made from a simple mix of stale bread, butter and custard, it is a great stand-by for those bitterly cold nights and an ideal way of using up leftover bread. You can make a traditional pudding, or try one of these nifty twists:
- Seep the dried fruit in a few tablespoons of warmed brandy or sherry for an hour. The alcohol will evaporate as it cooks, leaving you with plump fruit.
- Swap the white bread for raisin bread, banana bread, croissants, brioche or panettone.
- Add liqueurs, citrus zest, vanilla, nut extracts and essences to your custard.
Sticky date
No one knows exactly when this British classic came about, but it is now a firm favourite during the colder months. Consisting of a sponge pudding studded with softened dates, and covered in a toffee sauce, this is one dessert that’s wickedly rich and sure to warm you up.
- Soak the dates in bicarbonate soda before adding them to the pudding, as this will soften them.
- Opt for a recipe that makes the sauce separately, so that there’s always plenty to go around.
- This is an ideal recipe to make in individual serves. Simply add any leftover puddings to the freezer and enjoy them again another day.
Rice pudding
Creamy and comforting, rice pudding is hard to beat. In fact, this simple mix of rice, sugar and milk is so popular it can be found right around the world. Here are a few of the variations:
- For a fragrant pudding try Latin American arroz con leche, made with citrus peel, cinnamon and sultanas.
- For a less sweet version try the Swedish risgrynsgrot, which is usually eaten for breakfast.
- For a lactose-free rice pudding try a South East Asian version. These rely on coconut milk for their creaminess and are a perfect dessert even in the middle of summer.
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