Raspberry & White Chocolate Upside Down Puddings

Sometimes the only thing which will satisfy is a hot pud. The weather took an about turn today and it’s been dark, rainy and dare I say it pretty cold. Where we live the weather can change from hour to hour. The only predictable thing about it is, it is unpredictable! Of course, I am being very British here as it is hardly like we are plagued with tornados or floods but that *is* part of being a Brit.

It’s in our DNA to moan about the weather 😉 So, after a meal of steamed then roasted whole chicken with a green masala crust, steamed wholemeal basmati rice and a simple salad I set to creating a new pudding to warm us up as we cuddled up on the couch.

As we are a dynamic duo, without children nor regular dinner guests at present it can be a dangerous occupation to bake. The desire not to waste food will kick in after I’ve gotten all enthusiastic about a new recipe without thinking who will eat the evidence for me and before you know it, I’m self-loathing with a bloated belly from all the naughty nibbles I just can’t throw away.

Work usually benefit with the leftovers but one cannot bring a steaming hot pudding to a hospital clinic with a jug of cream or custard to eat in our breaks! Therefore I’ve created a little treat which makes exactly two portions. Doubling it would be easy peasy maths so feel free to upscale if you have more mouths to feed.

Normally one who turns to chocolate if a hot dessert to be served with cold, thick cream is on the agenda, I wanted to still acknowledge the summer fruits which are sneaking onto our local grocers shelves. If you happen to be in a part go the world were raspberries aren’t available fresh and fragrant then please be reassured that for what you use them here, frozen berries are more than fine.

These upside-down sponge puddings have what is in effect a quick jam topping made by bubbling up a little butter and sugar then taking off the heat and adding the berries. Also, you only need a bowl and a spoon to mix up the batter, no need to call in the heavy machinery nor dirty too much kit in the quest of a little sweet comfort.

I umm-ed and ahh-ed all afternoon as to what to add to the sponge part to add a little more interest. Ground almonds? Chopped pistachios? Maybe use muscavado sugars instead. All good ideas I believe would work beautifully. In fact, next time I make these I would add the pistachios and serve with homemade lemon curd. Oh, my I need to do another Jillian Michaels beasting workout just thinking of it! It would be sooo worth it though 😉

However, today I plumped for chunks of white chocolate. When the puds are turned out, still hot from the oven, the chocolate oozes and gives an almost custard-like mouthfeel not to be missed. I’m a bit of a white chocolate snob and only use Green & Blacks these days; the real vanilla bean in it just takes it to another level. Excuse me whilst I have a moment as I remember the lusciousness ooo…

Eaten as a whole, we have almost molten raspberries with a good amount of bite and tang left in them, atop a soft, moist crumb studded with semi-solid nuggets of vanilla chocolate loveliness. A puddle of cream is my preferred accompaniment as it is rich but bland and doesn’t compete by being sweet itself like ice cream or custard will do. However you choose to have these, I can’t recommend you do try them enough! They would be perfect for a cosy night in with your loved one as the recipe stands or multiplied up to feed the family or your mates on a supposed to be almost summer but it’s still flippin’ raining and cold day.

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Raspberry & White Chocolate Upside Down Puddings

Servings: 2

: 498 kcal

Author: Just Jo

Ingredients

For the topping

• 10-12 raspberries fresh or frozen
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• Knob of butter about 10-15g

For the sponge

• 1 small – medium egg weight approx 50-60g
• 50 g caster sugar
• 40 g soft butter
• A splash of vanilla extract
• 50 g self-raising flour
• 40 g white chocolate chunks or chips

Instructions

1. Use a little extra butter to grease the inside of 2 darioles (small metal moulds – use deep ramekins if you don’t have them – or oven proof cups/mugs). Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. Heat the butter and caster sugar for the topping until they just boil and the sugar dissolves. Stir in the berries and then divide between the two prepared darioles. Leave to one side.
3. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract (a few drops is enough) until light and fluffy then beat in the egg.
4. Sift over the flour and fold in adding the chocolate as it just comes together.
5. Divide between moulds taking care not to deserve the berry topping and pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes. They will rise above the edges of the darioles as you can see in the blog post but don’t panic! Also note because of the relatively high egg content they take on colour quickly but they shouldn’t burn – just be careful to check they do spring back to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean to check they really are cooked through.
6. Stand for a few minutes only before loosening the sides with a plastic knife or thin spatula (this should be an easy job) and using a oven mitt, insert onto a plate. Serve with double cream, ice cream or custard as you like.

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