A gooey chocolate sauce hiding below a warm, soft chocolate pudding – this Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding Recipe helps you create the ultimate chocolate indulgence.
While it's a simple dessert to whip up, it has a comforting and decadent allure that makes it perfect in so many situations – whether you're craving a cozy treat on a cold winter night or want to impress at your next dinner party.
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A "tried and tested" recipe
This recipe has been popular for decades, and I came across a similar version in many of the community cookbooks I've collected over the years along with a 1968 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
The community cookbooks I've collected include recipes that have been tried and tested by home cooks for years. Unsurprisingly, the recipe for Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding has been shared around a lot. So here, I've created a simple and classic old fashioned chocolate self-saucing pudding that closely follows these shared recipes.
Ingredient notes
The ingredient list is another thing that makes this recipe so popular.
Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding is made from ingredients that you most likely have in the pantry and fridge right now. No trip to the shops necessary!
For this recipe, you'll want to use unsweetened cocoa powder.
I use regular (or natural) cocoa powder which is the most common type of cocoa powder and widely available in stores. It's the cheapest option and is more commonly used in recipes. However, you could also use Dutch process cocoa powder, which has a smoother and more mellow flavour.
Precise quantities for all ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Variation ideas
In my book, you really can't beat this classic recipe. However, you could experiment by:
- adding a hint of espresso powder for a mocha twist
- incorporating a dash of orange zest for a jaffa-inspired pudding
- substituting a little of the milk for Bailey's Irish Cream to add that extra indulgence factor.
How to make Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
The thing that makes this dessert so wonderful is the layered structure – a tender, cake-like layer that holds its own in terms of flavour and texture and then underneath a heavenly pool of warm, molten chocolate sauce.
And this all happens magically as it bakes, with the sauce sinking to the bottom to create the signature self-saucing effect. So the method is actually surprisingly simple.
Prepping
Grease a baking dish generously with butter and pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees celsius / 340 degrees fahrenheit.
Mix it all up
Sift the flour and first measure of cocoa into a mixing bowl, then whisk in the sugar. Add the lightly beaten egg, milk and melted butter (see image 1) and whisk together until combined and smooth (see image 2).
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish. Using a spoon or spatula, spread out the mixture to evenly cover the bottom of the dish (see image 3).
Add the topping/sauce
Mix the brown sugar and cocoa together for topping and sprinkle over mixture (see image 4).
Carefully pour over the boiling water. You can use the back of a spoon to break the pour.
Baking
Bake for 40 minutes or until the top of the cake is a little crusty and springs back when you touch it gently.
Serving your Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding
There's nothing like enjoying this straight from the oven. It's great by itself and even better with ice cream and strawberries.
TIP: Use a large spoon to scoop out the pudding, making sure everyone gets their fair share of the warm chocolate sauce. That sauce is so good it could seriously start an argument!
You could also serve this pudding with a generous dollop of freshly whipped cream, sprinkled with chocolate shavings, nuts or coconut or dusted with icing sugar (powdered sugar).
You could also substitute the strawberries for a different fruit. Banana, raspberries and cherries also pair well with chocolate.
Recipe FAQs
Cover any leftover pudding and store in the fridge for up to a few days.
Yes. It is best re-heated in the microwave to ensure that gooey sauce becomes gooey again.
You can, though it won't be quite as delicious as when served straight from the oven. Make sure it's well wrapped and then freeze for up to a few months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and re-heat in the microwave before enjoying.
You could, but just imagine it's a cold, rainy night and you don't have packet mix in the cupboard. That self-saucing chocolate pudding craving is out of control, so you desperately search the web and come across this recipe. You are surprised to discover you already have all the ingredients on hand. You're then delighted to discover, it really is just as easy to make up this recipe as it is to prepare the packet mixture.
When you bake it off, and taste the result, you exclaim, "Oh my goodness, this is so much better than the packet version, I'll never buy packet mixture again."
Hungry for more?
You can browse the entire dessert collection here or jump to more of these favourite pudding recipes:
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Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
Equipment
- medium casserole or baking dish about 2 litre capacity
Ingredients
- ½ cup caster sugar (superfine sugar) (115 grams)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 cup SR flour (or 1 cup plain/all purpose flour + 2 teaspoons baking powder) (160 grams)
- ½ cup milk (125 ml)
- 40 grams butter, melted
Topping/Sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar (110 grams)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 ½ cups boiling water (375 ml)
Instructions
- Grease baking dish generously with butter. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees celsius / 340 degrees fahrenheit.
- Sift flour and cocoa into mixing bowl, then whisk in sugar. Add egg, milk and melted butter and whisk together until combined and smooth. Pour into baking dish.
- Mix brown sugar and cocoa together for topping and sprinkle over mixture. Carefully pour over the boiling water.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
Notes
- You might need to use a spoon or spatula to spread out the pudding mixture in the bottom of the baking dish.
- When pouring the boiling water over the pudding mixture, you can use the back of a spoon to break the pour.
- You'll know it's cooked when the top of the cake is a little crusty and springs back when you touch it gently.
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