Chocohotopots

What a start to the year it's been and I don't mean that in a good way! Just as I was getting used to the new year, I fell sick, again!! Coming within weeks of the last time I fell sick, I was wiped out all over again. So, for much of January I've just lay low.

 

Once the worst had passed, I've concentrated on building up my immunity and strength with natural home remedies. So, it's been a shot of amla (Indian gooseberry) juice first thing in the morning and a small cup of haldi-doodh (milk with a pinch of turmeric) just before bed at night. And sometime during the day, a concoction of honey-ginger-tulsi (Indian basil) to counter the horrible cough that's proving a wee bit stubborn. If you know of any more, do tell me!

 

Anyhow, I've had enough of being sick and the oven's been cold for too long.

 

So, I turned to this trusted, super easy recipe by Nigella that's never failed me till date. Nigella calls them 'chocohotopots' and they are instant mood lifters and just what the doctor ordered!

 

It is one of the first recipes I ever tried my hand at, way before I even started writing this blog and it was an instant hit. And ever since, it's been a regular feature at home. Be it a rainy weekend or a chilly night or an impromptu dinner with friends or simply, an urge for something warm and cosy, these chocohotopots have always been the dessert of choice.

The beauty of this recipe is that it uses regular pantry staples and transforms itself into something reminiscent of a chocolate molten lava cake. All you need is a hand whisk to get the batter done and then wait twenty minutes before you pull these beauties out of the oven. Just remember, this dessert should be served straight from the oven, HOT! You can prepare the batter much in advance and then twenty minutes before you want to eat them, pop them in the oven.

 

The top and the sides of the batter cook into crisp, chewy shell that conceals a luscious, gooey molten chocolate inside that will melt even the most hardened cynics! Till date, I haven't yet seen anyone's eyes not widen with excitement when they put their spoon through the crust and encounter the chocolate lava inside! I will insist that you try give this dessert a shot... you can thank me later!!

 

 

How've you all been?? Hope the new year's been kinder to you..xx!!

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Despite being such a retro classic, I have never gotten round to making a bread pudding. It's just never appealed to me. There are so many better things to make than a pudding made out of stale bread, I have always reasoned. And yet, last week I found myself with these hot cross buns I had baked, getting a bit old. They were delicious but it was one of those rare times, when I couldn't find anyone to share them with. And really, there's only that much hot cross buns one can have, however gorgeous they may have been. So, bread pudding it was going to be!!

 

 

Googled around and zeroed in on a Nigella recipe. She takes a traditional bread pudding recipe and jazzes it up with chocolate chip, milk, cream and a good splosh of dark rum. Perfect recipe, I reckoned for the cross buns I had, which were themselves studded with raisins and chocolate chips and flavoured with cinnamon and vanilla. My own little touch was the zest of an orange because I just love how an orange refreshes and livens up a dessert.

 

There is hardly much for you to do for a bread pudding. Maybe, that's why they are so popular. I'll come to how it tasted but can I just say that the kitchen smelled divine!!

 

 

Before, you pop the pudding in the oven, you've got to sprinkle some brown sugar all over the top. So, while the pudding bakes, this sugar on top caramelises and forms this golden brown, crispy crust. And underneath that crust is this soft, custardy bread that has soaked up all those beautiful flavours along with those molten chocolate chips. And yes, the orange zest does its job to ensure that all that cream, milk and eggs does not get too rich and heavy on the palate.

 

It helped that I used the cross buns which already had their own flavour profile that just added bags of flavour. I might have left it in the oven for five minutes more than what was needed. It felt slightly dry and could have done with some vanilla custard or for that matter, ice-cream.

 

 

This bread pudding lays no claim to being an on-trend dessert but it endears itself to you with a familiarity that is comforting in a way only a warm pudding can be on a cool night or a rainy day!!

 

Sticky Toffee Pudding

For all the romance of the rains, there is also the practical side of everyday life in the monsoons. There are the traffic snarls, the breakdown of public transport, the smelly, damp clothes, the overflowing drains and lest we forget, the groaning and moaning of everyone around of how they can't take any more rain. And then just to prove a point, the rain gods decide to go all out over the weekend, complete with lashing rain and howling winds.

 

 

You know it is completely futile to even think of stepping outside. So, you either curl up with a good book, see a movie that you've already seen before, write a blog post on how much you love the rains or simply, make yourself a hot drink and stare out at the insanity of the weather gods!!

 

And then you make your way to the kitchen and decide to make yourself a hot pudding that will warm you up, in sharp contrast to the wet, damp weather that has started dampening your mood too. Knowing me, it should have been chocolate but I had a packet of fresh dates lying around. With Ramzan going on, the stores are filled with dates from the Middle East. So, what better time to put them to use and make some warm, sticky toffee pudding.

Sticky Toffee Pudding is a modern British classic that consists of a moist, date cake that is served with a toffee sauce and vanilla ice-cream or custard. For the recipe, I turn to another modern British classic, Nigel Slater. Yes, he's becoming a favourite out here!!

 

Like many British desserts, this dessert comes together very easily. The instructions are straightforward for the pudding and the toffee sauce.

So, what's the verdict?? The date pudding is delightful. It is moist, not too sweet and surprisingly light. The little bits of date that you encounter as you make your way through the dessert is what makes it special.

I wasn't a fan of the toffee sauce and found it cloyingly sweet. I'd recommend it only for the sugar fanatics. Come to think of it, I could have added some coffee to the sauce, that would have paired well with the dates and taken the sweet edge off the sauce. Next time!!

 

 

If you ask me, have the date pudding as a tea-time treat, without any added frills. It is lovely, just as it is, straight from the oven, warm and moist. A perfect accompaniment while you watch the rains, by the window with a warm cuppa!!