Warm Chestnut and Chocolate Pudding

Cook Time 45 minutes to 1 hour

Servings 6

Ingredients

Soft butter, to grease
Cocoa powder, to dust
125g unsalted butter, chopped 125g dark chocolate (70%), chopped
225g chestnut purée 
100ml milk
2 eggs, separated
75g caster sugar
Icing sugar, to dust

Dollop or Double cream, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Generously grease six 150ml capacity dariole moulds with butter. Sprinkle a tablespoon of cocoa powder into a ramekin and roll around so the cocoa powder coats the inside evenly.

Shake out the excess into the next ramekin. Alternatively, this can be made as a sharing dish in one large 1 litre capacity ceramic baking dish.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (the base of the bowl should not touch the water). Melt over medium heat, and then stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.

Combine the chestnut purée and milk in a saucepan and heat over low heat, whisking until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a separate bowl, use electric beaters to beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir the chocolate and butter mixture into the chestnut and milk mixture until evenly combined. Add all of this to the yolk mixture, and fold in to make a smooth batter.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until medium peaks form. Add to the chocolate mixture in 3 batches, folding gently to combine. Pour into the prepared ramekins and stand them on a baking tray. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until tops have cracked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2–3 minutes. If using a large baking dish, cook for 25–30 minutes.

Serve hot, dusted with icing sugar and topped with dollop or double cream.