cherry & chocolate puddings

Preparation time 25 minutes

Cooking temperature high

Cooking time ½–2 hours

Serves 4

50 g (2 oz) butter, plus extra for greasing

50 g (2 oz) caster sugar

50 g (2 oz) self-raising flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

425 g (14 oz) can pitted black cherries, drained

Chocolate sauce

100 g (3½ oz) white chocolate, broken into pieces

150 ml (¼ pint) double cream

Preheat the slow cooker if necessary; see the manufacturer’s instructions. Butter the inside of 4 metal pudding moulds, each 250 ml (8 fl oz), and base-line each with a circle of greaseproof paper.

Put the measured butter, sugar, flour, egg, cocoa, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl and beat them together with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Arrange 7cherries in the base of each pudding mould. Roughly chop the remainder and stir them into the pudding mix. Spoon the mixture into the pudding moulds and level the tops. Loosely cover the tops of the moulds with foil and put them in the slow cooker pot. Pour boiling water into the pot so that it comes halfway up the sides of the moulds, cover with the lid and cook on high for 1½–2 hours or until the puddings are well risen and the tops spring back when pressed with a fingertip. Lift the puddings out of the slow cooker pot.

Make the sauce. Put the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until melted. Loosen the edges of the puddings, turn them out into shallow bowls, peel away the lining paper and pour the sauce around them before serving.

For cherry & almond puddings, prepare the sponge as above, omitting the cocoa and ground cinnamon and instead adding 2 tablespoons ground almonds and a few drops of almond essence. Cook as above, turn out and serve with spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream.