Baked Chocolate Pudding

This is my 100th post. A moment to celebrate and recall some of my fondest memories since doing this. It's also a chance to share with you one of my favourite recipes, a baked chocolate pudding that I turn to when I'm in a pinch for time and want something delicious that oozes chocolate goodness for dessert. Serve it with berries or cream or creme fraiche. Either way, this is top shelf.

I love looking back on my first few posts. I like to think that in a short time I've come a long way. As a matter of fact, some of my earliest posts are cringe-worthy, like looking back on old school photos when you thought you could rock a certain outfit for picture day and live to regret it every time someone reaches for the photo album. That's what looking back on my first few images is like. I laugh. I squint and cringe.


Some of my favourite moments since starting this blog aren't even my most popular posts. That's not the point. It's really about the reason behind the post and the coinciding reaction when writing it, like a quiet weeknight dinner for two with my wife when I made Roast Pork Tenderloin with Pears and Figs. It's the memories inspired by old memories that make a dent with me.

I remember the very first image that was accepted by one of the food porn sites. It was an image from Maple Butternut Squash and Sage Soup. I was ecstatic. It was the first of many goals that I reached and I keep on striving and trying to make this blog as enjoyable as I can. I like to think up new recipes, tell stories related to food that often bring up my youth and paint a picture of a man in love with a woman and sharing food along the way.

Like chocolate.

I remember the first time I had it. Maybe not the actual first time, but the first time I recall a moment connected with it. I was young and I tasted it and fireworks went off. And I remember those fireworks. It's the food that often triggers memories. That, and I have a sweet tooth. I have a chocolate sweet tooth.

When I was a kid and my mom would give me some loose change to use at the local variety store, I would immediately grab my little baggie and load up on all the 5 cent sweet stuff I could. I'd start adding everything up and do a quick calculation in my head. I would always have to put back one or two of the nickel sweets. I needed enough money left for chocolate. I couldn't go home without some chocolate to relish.

I'm like a lot of people. I have a love-love relationship with the dark gooey stuff. Like music, it can bring you out of a mood and lift you up. The taste is different every single time and there are so many varieties of chocolate and recipes with chocolate that it's like experiencing it for the very first time every time you have a bite. I love that feeling. And I get that reaction with this recipe. That smooth, velvety soft centre hooks  me every time.

The top is like a chocolate cake, dence and crusted. The inside is soft, warm and rich. It's like the treat inside the treat. Truthfully, it's as if someone has an IV drip of chocolate attached to your mouth. It just keeps giving. Bill Cosby, take that.

This is a super quick and painfully easy recipe to make. It's a three step process that takes no more than 20 minutes, start to to finish. A quick melting of the chocolate and butter on a double boiler. A mixing bowl with eggs, icing sugar and flour stirred until combined and added a bit at a time to the chocolate mix. Lastly, pour it into your one cup ramekin and let it bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Stupid simple.

My type of recipe. My one hundreth post.

From my kitchen to yours, happy eating!

Baked Chocolate Pudding

The Goods:

• 100 grams of good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 100 grams of Nutella (or just 200 grams of dark chocolate)
• 100 grams unsalted butter (about 3/4 of a stick)
• 3 eggs and a pinch of water, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and add the butter. Do not let the bowl touch the water or the chocolate mixture will burn. Stir the chocolate and butter until just melted.
2. In a mixing bowl, place the eggs, sugar, water, flour and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
3. A bit at a time, add the chocolate mixture to the mixing bowl. Stir until fully combined.
4. Pour the mixture into 4 one-cup ramekins and put on a baking tray and on the middle rack of the oven.
5. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are fully set. Serve with cream or berries.
6. Serves 4.