Steamed choc caramel puddings

This weather just doesn't seem to be warming up quick enough for my liking!!  But then, I know I could quite happily live in a climate that wouldn't ever dip below 25 degrees. I'd be as happy as a pig in mud!

But, living in Melbourne, that will never be the case so I may as well make the most of the cooler days while they last, and for me that means comfort food.  And when we have visitors or go visiting, that can mean a little indulgence with the comfort I reckon!



If you looked in our double cupboards upstairs, you would be confronted with hundreds of cooking magazines and books.  Hubby, being the minimalist that he is, threatens to cull my collection on occasions, but so far I have held him at bay and every now and then (less often since two little boys came onto the scene!) I head up stairs to what I would consider to be my 'man cave', open up the cupboard doors and pour over a selection of books, downloading ideas into my head and storing them for later inspiration.

Doing this a little while back I came across a 'Chocolate' cookbook from Gourmet Traveller which I have had for years.  Flicking through I found a chocolate mousse cake recipe which was basically white chocolate mousse sandwiched between two rich chocolate cakes.  Looked great but I didn't really have the patience or time to make a mousse and cake so I just made the cake.  It was delicious by itself actually.  Then last weekend I wanted to make something warm and decadent for our dear friends and decided to try this cake recipe but put the mix in little dariole molds and steam them as a pudding.  Hmmm, but something else was needed..... ah yes, a blob of creamy caramel in the middle.  That would be a nice surprise as your fork plunged through the pud.  I also had a Thermomix to take into account this time around.  And so although the well known rule is to never try a new recipe at a dinner party, it seems a rule I break more often than not and so I set to work!

Luckily I checked one the first time I steamed them as it looked great but on removal of the mold, it become a very 'lavery' lava cake - and thus needed a bit more steaming!  Although, feeling the need not waste the trial one (!) we actually thought if you did happen to under-cook these little babies, it probably wouldn't be the most disastrous thing you could do!  So if you like you could slightly under-cook the puds to achieve a lava cake type result.

From the original recipe I have changed it to be gluten free, and single puddings instead of a whole cake, by steaming instead of baking in the oven.  Also the blob of caramel so I guess it is now quite a different recipe but it is such a great base that there are lots of variations I can think of that would allow you to just keep rolling this little beauty out dinner party after dinner party!  A shot of espresso in the cake mix, some homemade jam or fresh berries in place of the caramel......  let your imaginations run wild!

Enjoy......

Steamed choc caramel puddings

Makes approx 12 puds when using 125ml molds

Ingredients

150g butter
150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
220g (1 c) rapadura sugar (brown, raw, coconut, or any other sugar would work)
200ml milk
150g (1 c) SR flour (I use Orgran gluten free for both the plain and self raising)
75g (1/2 c) plain flour
1/4 c cocoa (I use raw cacao powder)
2 eggs
a tin of caramel (I used top'n'fill from Nestle but any would do or even those caramel square lollies would work)

Method - Conventional

1.  Prepare your steaming dish.  If you dont have specific steaming equipment, you could use a saucepan that fits a bamboo steamer.
2.  Combine the butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the chocolate melts and sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat.
3.  Add flours and cocoa and mix well with a wooden spoon.
4.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and stir until smooth.
5.  Pour into individual lightly greased molds, approx 3/4 of the way up the side.  Add a blob of caramel in the middle of each mold.
6.  Place in steaming tray and steam for approx 20-25 minutes (depending on whether you want a bit of a lava affect).
7.  Turn out and serve with ice cream or cream and berries.

Method - Thermomix

1.  Place the butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in the TM bowl and cook for 2 minutes at 50 degrees on speed 2, or until all melted and sugar dissolved.
2.  Add flours and cocoa and mix on speed 4 for 5-10 seconds, or until well combined.  You may need to scrape the bowl once.
3.  Add eggs one at a time and continue mixing on speed 4 until eggs are well combined.
4.  Follow step 5 above.
5.  Without needing to clean the bowl, add 1 litre hot water to the bowl.  Secure lid and place Varoma on top.  Fill with molds (I fit about 6 in and just do a couple of batches - as seen in the pic below). 
6.  Put lid on Varoma and steam at Varoma temp, speed 3-4 for 20-25 minutes (depending on whether you want a slight lava affect and depending on the temperature of your water when you add it to the bowl).
7.  Turn out and serve with ice cream or cream and berries.