Oooo, chocolate

Recipes from the Guardian. Anything that contains the words 'molten, chocolate and pudding' in the description, I'm going to be wild about. Now, if I could just figure out what the hell 'caster sugar' was, we'd be set. Or what the UK measurements meant in Iowegian. Shit. I'm screwed.

Molten Chocolate Pudding

This pudding can be likened to a volcano. When you cut into it, molten chocolate 'lava' will erupt from the centre. You will need a pudding bowl with a capacity of 1.5-1.8 litres or small individual ramekins, and a lidded saucepan into which it or they will fit. The saucepan needs to fit in the oven.

For the molten centre

125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
15g butter
50ml double cream
25g caster sugar

For the pudding

200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
6 eggs, separated
100g plain flour
40g cornflour
11/2; tsp baking powder

First make the centre. Melt all the ingredients over very low heat. Pour into a small bowl, cover it and leave in the freezer for approximately 20 minutes until firm.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease the bowl with a little butter smeared on its wrapper. Sift in a little flour and shake the bowl around until covered with a dusting of flour. Slowly melt the chocolate in a small bowl over hot water or in a microwave. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until pale and fluffy. Then take a whisk and whisk in the egg yolks one by one. Whip the egg whites into soft peaks and reserve. Add the flour, cornflour and baking powder to the butter/sugar/egg mix and stir in with a wooden spoon. Fold in the melted chocolate, then the egg whites. Start with just a small proportion of the whites, then when the mixture has loosened up fold in the rest. Pour a third of the mix into the pudding bowl, then retrieve the chocolate from the freezer and lay the set 'plug' on top. Add the rest of the pudding mix. Cover the bowl with greaseproof paper and tin foil.

Place the pudding in its bowl in the saucepan and pour in water until it comes halfway up the bowl. Put the lid on the saucepan and bring to the boil on the stove top. As soon as the contents begin to bubble, place the saucepan in the oven for 1 hour. If you are making small puddings, bake for 30 minutes. You can also cook the puddings in a steamer. Take the saucepan out of the oven, extract the pudding from the bowl and leave it to rest for 15 minutes before serving with double cream or vanilla ice cream.