Gooey Chocolate Puddings with Whole Cherry Sauce

chocolate cherry pudding

I seem to suffer from seasonal envy, no matter what time of year it is. At the moment, I’m sitting in short sleeves with the air-conditioner on and craving churros and hot chocolate. In the depths of winter, I dribble over delicious ice creams and summer desserts on almost every Northern Hemisphere blog I read. The recipe I’m sharing today came from Delicious UK, one that I found months ago and have been impatiently waiting to make with the season’s first cherries.

I went on a bit of a summer fruit spending spree on the weekend. I didn’t intentionally set out to do so, but I couldn’t resist and came home with a few peaches, some gorgeous mangoes and a huge bag of cherries. I knew that this was their fate even before I’d left the store. Half of the cherries are halved and pitted, and the others are left intact, and cooked lightly in a sweet white wine syrup that enhances their natural flavour. I will definitely be cooking cherries this way again (and likely other berries as well) to serve with ice cream, or in trifle, or with meringue. The possibilities are endless!

The chocolate pudding came together quickly, and is sinfully rich. They would make fabulous dinner party desserts, and the pudding mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated for a few hours until you’re ready to bake them. Unfortunately mine wasn’t quite as gooey in the center as I would have liked as I forgot about them in the oven for a few minutes too long, but they were still amazing. Served with the cherries and a drizzling of syrup, this is a beautiful dessert, and definitely as delicious as it is pretty.

Gooey chocolate puddings with whole cherry sauce
Recipe from Delicious UK
Makes 6 puddings

Cherry Sauce
• 50g light muscovado sugar
• 100g cherries, halved and stoned, plus 100g cherries with stalks left on
• 150ml sweet white wine

Puddings
• 175g unsalted butter, cubed
• 175g dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 eggs, plus 4 egg yolks
• 75g caster sugar
• 75g plain flour, sifted

1. Place the muscovado sugar into a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water. Heat for about 2 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and starts to turn syrupy. Add the halved cherries and cook, stirring gently for 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and bring to the boil. Bubble for about 5 minutes to reduce, add the whole cherries and cook for a further minute. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease 6 ramekins or cooking rings and place on baking tray.
3. Place the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl resting over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the water doesn’t touch the bowl. Heat until melted, then stir and remove the bowl from the pan.
4. Whisk the whole eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar with an electric mixer until very pale, foamy and doubled in volume. Gently fold in the melted chocolate mixture, followed by the flour. Chill for 10 minutes, or until the mixture has firmed up slightly.
5. Divide between the ramekins and bake for 8-10 minutes until risen and firm on the outside and squidgy in the center. Remove the puds from the rings or tins and place each of them on an individual plate. Spoon the cooled sauce over and around each pud to serve.

10 Comments on “Gooey Chocolate Puddings with Whole Cherry Sauce”

  1. Yum – I can't wait til Christmas, we stock up on gorgeous cherries which you can just sit and eat all day. This sounds like a perfect way to use them

  2. I know what you mean about seasonal envy! Now that we're about to launch into regular 40 degree heat I want winter weather, doonas and stews to come back! That gooey chocolate & cherry recipe looks great!

  3. Ooooh they look delicious! I will have to wait for a cooler day and give them a go! Our house gets WAY too hot when I have the oven on in Summer 🙁

  4. Hee, at least it allows you to be in sync with the rest of "us" 😉 But still, I can't wait to see what summer treats you have in store!

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