Self-saucing chocolate puddings with tamarillos

Self-saucing chocolate puddings with tamarillos. Photo / Babiche Martens

Serves 4

Poached tamarillos
8 tamarillos
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apple juice
1 vanilla bean, split

Pudding
100g self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs Dutch cocoa
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup milk
30g butter, melted
1 egg

Topping
100g brown sugar
2 Tbs Dutch cocoa
3/4 cup boiling water
Cream

1 To poach the tamarillos: make a cross on the base of each tamarillo using the point of a sharp paring knife.

2 Put them into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes then peel off the skin.

3 Put the peeled fruit into a saucepan and add the sugar, water, juice and vanilla. Simmer for 30 minutes then let cool.

4 To make the pudding: preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly butter a 1.25 litre baking dish or use 4 x 120ml moulds.

5 Sift the flour, salt, sugar and cocoa together into a bowl. Add the chocolate then the combined milk, butter and whisked egg and fold together. Pour into the dish or individual dishes.

6 Mix the topping ingredients together and pour carefully over the pudding then bake between 15 (individual) and 35 minutes or until the pudding is puffy in the centre and springs back when lightly touched.

7 Serve the chocolate pudding hot with the poached tamarillos and runny cream.