Mocha Chocolate Pudding with What Katie Ate

When we found out that photographer and food stylist Katie Quinn Davies was publishing a collection of recipes and images based on her aptly-titled blog, What Katie Ate, we could hardly wait for our copy to arrive. As longtime fans of her work, we're often craving her latest globally-inspired recipe or admiring her striking, intimate photography. To celebrate the release of Katie's debut cookbook we asked the cook to share her current favorite recipe, and she countered with the below tips for whipping up a decadent mocha chocolate pudding complete with elegant images of the work in progress. Now if you'll please excuse us while we preheat the oven.

Self-Saucing Mocha Chocolate Pudding
Serves 4

This is incredibly more-ish pudding. Very easy and quick to make and it'll fill your kitchen with the most incredible aromas as it cooks. It has a crisp outer sponge on the exterior, with a molten, gooey and fudgy center. It's a crowd pleaser and a great recipe to make for a cozy dinner party of four in the autumnal months. I like to serve it straight from the oven piping-hot, and dish it up at the table into pre-warmed bowls. I challenge you to get it into the actual bowls as I always find at least one of my guests will beat me to the punch by grabbing a spoon and digging right into the pudding bowl. Be sure to have lots of rich, homemade vanilla bean ice cream ready to accompany, or a big bowl of whipped cream flavored with a tablespoon or two of good Irish whiskey.

For Pudding
100g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
60g brown sugar
25ml crème de cacao (optional)
25ml strong espresso coffee
100ml milk
1 egg
50g butter, melted
 
For Topping
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dutch cocoa
1 teaspoon dried espresso coffee powder
250ml boiling water
 
Preheat oven to 180?C, fan-forced.

Butter a 17cm (1.0L) pudding bowl and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a large mixing bowl, add sugar and stir to combine. Add the crème de cacao, coffee, milk, egg and melted butter, stir well to combine thoroughly using a wooden spoon or electric beater. Pour into pre-prepared pudding bowl and place on a baking sheet.

To make the topping add brown sugar, cocoa and dried instant coffee powder into a bowl and stir well to combine. Scatter the whole lot liberally over the top of the pudding then pour the 250ml of boiling water over the top again.

Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until top has risen and sauce below bubbles up through pudding.

Serve hot with vanilla bean ice cream.

*Photography courtesy of What Katie Ate