There is something special about a layered pudding in a pretty glass dish. These puddings are small, but they need to be. The layers are incredibly rich, but perfect for a Christmas dinner party. Get creative with decoration to make them a wow factor for your guests. Plus, they are easy to whip up (literally) and require only a small amount of cooking.
If banana milkshake isn’t your thing, go full chocolate and opt for a chocolate milkshake powder instead. You can find them near the hot chocolate drinks at your supermarket. If you can’t find the powder, don’t use a milkshake liquid mixer, as it won’t have the same setting effect and you’ll end up with running cream instead of a thick mousse. Instead try cocoa powder, or another hot drinks powder. Be creative.
TO MAKE THESE PUDDINGS (THIS RECIPE MAKES TWO MEDIUM SIZED PORTIONS,) YOU WILL NEED:
350ML WHIPPING CREAM
2 EGG WHITES.
100G OF CRUSHED DIGESTIVE BISCUITS
150G DARK CHOCOLATE
100G UNSALTED BUTTER
50G DARK BROWN SUGAR
2 TABLESPOONS SIFTED ICING SUGAR
4 TABLESPOONS BANANA MILKSHAKE POWDER
1 TEASPOON SIFTED COCOA POWDER
1/2 TEASPOON NUTMEG
1 BISCUIT CUT INTO QUARTERS FOR DECORATION PLUS A SMALL AMOUNT OF GRATED DARK CHOCOLATE AND WHITE CHOCOLATE STARS
First, take your crushed digestive biscuits, and mix in the nutmeg & cocoa powder. Melt about 30g of butter and pour into the dry mix. Give it a good stir until all the biscuit is covered. Spoon the mixture evenly between your dishes, pushing the biscuit, to make it compact. Then place them in the fridge whilst you get on with the next part.
In a mixer (or if you prefer, use a hand whisk, but it will take an age), pour the whipping cream and set to whisk on high for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it. It should gradually thicken up until it can form stiff peaks, the consistency will be very thick and airy. In an electric mixer, this can take about 5-10 minutes to get to the right consistency. Leave to one side for a moment.
Next take 100g of the dark chocolate and melt it. I prefer to use the microwave as it’s quicker, but you can melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Once your chocolate has melted, spoon in 1 tablespoon of icing sugar and mix it thoroughly. Next take half of the whipping cream and gently fold it into the chocolate bowl. Be careful not to mix too hard, you don’t want to lose the air from the cream. Take your dishes out of the fridge and evenly spoon out the chocolate cream into them, layering it carefully and spreading it out evenly. Then, put them back in the fridge.
For the dark chocolate fudge, you will need a saucepan. Place 50g dark chocolate, 70g unsalted butter and the brown sugar into a pan and cook on a medium heat. Keep stirring until everything has combined and the sugar has all melted. As you start to see it rising, and bubbling, remove from the heat, stir a tablespoon of icing sugar and leave to one side to cool.
Whilst that’s cooling, whisk your egg whites. This will take a few minutes, they need to reach a constancy where they are bright white, fluffy and form stiff peaks. Once they are at this stage, gently fold in the whipping cream and banana milkshake powder until it is all combined.
Take your dishes back out from the fridge and spoon your cooled fudge mixture (make sure it’s at a runny consistency, but not too hot or it will melt the cream) evenly over the dishes. Next spoon your banana milkshake cream onto the top and place back in the fridge for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, it’s time to decorate! Place the digestive biscuits in the corner, sprinkle over some grated chocolate and white chocolate stars. Put back in the fridge for a further hour to set.
Then they are ready to serve.
Author : Recipe produced by Barrie from Oakhouse Foods – supplying delicious ready meals delivered to your home.