Chocolate self-saucing pudding
This chocolate self-saucing pudding recipe is written for Aussie home kitchens — australian leaning, supermarket ingredients, and timings that match a real weeknight rather than a studio set. Serves 5–6 with about 10 min prep and 30 min cook time (around 40 min total). That is a home estimate — ovens and pans vary, so use colour and texture as well as the clock. Oven cue in the method is 170°C. Preheat fully; a cold start throws off the 40 min timing and can leave centres underdone while edges race ahead. One practical flag before you start: Serve at once — the sauce soaks back into the cake as it sits. The Notes section expands shopping, heat, texture, and leftovers so the page stays useful beyond a bare ingredient dump. Everything on this page is metric-first for Australia. If you are converting from cups on an old card, weigh flour, sugar, and butter whenever the ingredient line shows grams.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Grease a 5–6 cup (about 1.25–1.5 litre) baking dish.
- Whisk brown sugar and cocoa for the topping; set aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, caster sugar, cocoa and salt. In another bowl whisk melted butter and milk, then egg and vanilla. Mix wet into dry to a thick batter.
- Spread in the dish. Sprinkle the sugar-cocoa topping evenly.
- Pour boiling water gently over the back of a spoon across the surface.
- Bake 30 minutes until the top springs back (it will be a bit crusty). Stand only a few minutes, then spoon out cake and sauce. Serve with ice cream.
Tip: Serve at once — the sauce soaks back into the cake as it sits. Pouring water over a spoon keeps the topping even. This version is a bit saucier than many old recipes.
Notes
- Putting it together for Chocolate self-saucing pudding: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.
- From our tested tip, expanded: Serve at once — the sauce soaks back into the cake as it sits. Pouring water over a spoon keeps the topping even. This version is a bit saucier than many old recipes. Treat that as the non-negotiable. If something still feels off — too wet, too pale, too tight — adjust one variable at a time (heat, liquid, or bake time) rather than changing three things at once.
- Make-ahead and leftovers: portion generously; leftovers keep if covered in the fridge. Leftovers of Chocolate self-saucing pudding usually keep 2–3 days in a sealed fridge container; reheat until steaming hot in the centre. Label freezer bags with the dish name and date. Allergens sit in the ingredient list — always double-check if cooking for guests.
- Shopping and mise en place: read the full ingredient list once before you start. For Chocolate self-saucing pudding, plain flour and baking powder are the items that decide whether the dish tastes flat or properly seasoned. Weigh where grams are given — volume cups are fine for liquids and some dry goods, but baking ratios are tighter if you use scales. Australian cups are 250 ml; a tablespoon is 20 ml and a teaspoon is 5 ml.