July 24, 2011
Peanut Butter Choc-Fudge Pudding
Everybody needs to be able to cook,
even if you do have all your meals prepared by your own personal chef!
It's holiday time here in Canberra, and I've been giving littlej cooking lessons and she's done so well that I've even promoted her to the Shun knives.
I love to teach and explain the why of things, but didn't realise how it would sound to anyone else until the builders- yes, they're back, but new ones this time who do a good job- in the other room called out asking if this was an episode of MasterChef Master Class! I was in the middle of explaining how to hold the knives safely and how to angle the knife correctly, and how NOT to be afraid of them "use strong strong arm motions, knives can smell fear and know when you're not confident" and was a bit embarrased that they overheard, but I bought their silence with warm Brownies..men can be easily manipulated like that!
Although we have been having meals like Pork Terrine and Mango Sago Pudding, today is all about fun, littlej and her friend are up to their noses in flour, gelatine and noodles- thankfully not all in the one meal! Now they're tackling a self saucing pudding and I thought I would post it for posterity.
In my InBox recently was a yummy sounding recipe from Shirley at Gluten Free Easily http://glutenfreeeasily.com/amy-green-simply-sugar-and-gluten-free-cookbook-review-and-giveaway she adapted form Amy Greens new cookbook, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/ This is my adaption of Shirley's adaption of Amy's original recipe! I'm sure the original is absolutely fantastic, but as I've said before, cooking is all about adapting to what you have in the cupboard and what you personally can or like to eat.
My recipe is just a little different from Shirleys, whose is just little bit different from Amy's, and I bet your's will be just a little bit different from mine too. Actually, I really hope your's is a LOT different, as littlej and her friend dumped in all the sugar at once and ours was really, really, really sweet!
One of the things I liked in this recipe is that it's cooked in a slow cooker. I know I've got a big oven and all, but sometimes I need it set to a higher or lower temperature for the main course that won't necesarily make for a happy dessert. I figured this type of pudding could tick away on the bench, keeping the oven free yet be hot and ready when wanted. One thing that I didn't take inot account though was that I have a REALLY OLD original crockpot from the 70's. I would loooove one of the new breed, or a fast/slow cooker, but this is what I've got and I think the newer models must work much more efficiently or at different temperatures, because my little crocky took nearly 3 1/2 hours instead of the 1-2 hrs suggested by the original recipe. It wasn't really a problem as I had plenty of time today, but trying to keep 2 excited girls from lifting the lid every 20mins was! Needless to say that a dessert that could have fed a family was devoured by the 2 of them as they declared it their reward for being patient all day.
Peanut Butter Choc Fudge Pudding
Recipe courtesy of Amy Green and Ulysses Press (And Shirley of Gluten Free Easily)
1/2 cup gluten-free flour
1/4 cup x 2 lots, raw sugar- I think brown would be better though
3/4 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1/2 tsp salt flakes
1/3 cup lactose free milk
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cups coffee
Spray your slowcooker with cooking oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ¼ cup of the sugar- NOT both lots, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, and vanilla.
Heat the peanut butter for about 30 seconds, just until soft. Add the first bowl of wet ingredients to the dry ingredients along with the peanut butter. It's a pretty thick batter, but that's the way it's supposed to be.
Spread the batter evenly in the bottom of your slow cooker
Whisk the cocoa , other ¼ cup sugar, and coffee together. Ladle it carefully on top of the batter in the slow cooker so it doesn't leave holes by just pouring it in. Don't mix the two together as this is the sauce part of the self-saucing!
Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours, checking after 1 hour. The pudding is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. My puddingy bits were sticking out above the layer of sauce below and looked dry and a bit fluffy. The sauce part is supposed to be wet :)
My littlej and her friend R just love peanut butter and declared this pudding Yummm!
It was easy for them to make together without supervision (except for the sugar) and the fact that it was self saucing made them feel very clever indeed. I fear- due to the calorie content, not yumm content- that it will be added to littlej's regular list of recipes. She's also working on a PBJ version adapting the original yet again!
I hope you don't mind Amy!
So Readers, how do you keep amused during school holidays?
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Wow onto the Shun knives already! Littlej must be doing well! :D This looks delicious-what better match than peanut butter and chocolate? :D
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful will be making this when I can get my hands on a slow cooker.
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to have a lesson with ya Bec, sounds amazingly fun. I never had a lesson on knives, had to research em myself. Wowza Littlej has graduated to the Shun knives. :) I didn't know it was school holidays, but ive been enjoying the frosty fun in the city. The ice skating rink is such good fun. :)
ReplyDeleteum, hello!!! This looks amazing! perfect for winter time and that little indulgent twist of PB & choc. mmmm. Goodness I can't really recall what I did in school hols for entertainment! trips to the cinema? I always loved movies!
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo
Love that your teaching cooking ;)
ReplyDeleteI love that its cooked in the slow cooker, your so right when your trying to cook dinner and dessert with one oven it often just does not work.
Thanks so much for sharing my site with your readers! :) This cake is always a hit. I'm glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteSending big hugs!
Amy
This pudding just looks like the perfect dessert for winter!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I'll try this, one of my colleagues just got diagnosed with coeliacs (Is that how you spell it) and I'm on a mission to feed him nice tasting GF meals :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you're a better mum than me! My kids have learnt their cooking skills (such as they are) from others as I've struggled to give up control of my domain.
ReplyDeleteOf course, now I wish I'd been a little more chilled about it all - so keep up the good work!
I wish my mum was able to cook! All I learned was what NOT to do, lol! Looks warm and filling and delicious :)
ReplyDeleteHello Lovelies! Minus 6*C here this morning, is it wrong to wish I had a big bowl of pudding to eat for breakfast? Purely to warm me up of course :)
ReplyDeleteLorraine- She is doing great, I don't let anyone at work touch my knives, she's special- Of course I might be a bit biased :)
Simcha- It would work well in the oven too, maybe about 180* and check after 45mins? I'm just guessing the timing, let me know how it goes
Anna- I don't think I could teach you anything honey! Haven't checked out the ice yet- I'm afraid of falling over :P
Heidi- Its a bit of fun and yumminess at the same time. I love having an excuse to go to the kids movies, I'd feel a bit embarrased going to Kung Foo Panda on my own!
Muppy- Thanks, same to you, I always see your little one in the thick of things on your blog.
Amy- Lovely to meet you and thanks for sharing with us!
Chopinandmysaucepan- Its just what you need on a frosty cold night in
Msihua- What a good workmate you are! It can be very overwhelming at first, so having someone make an effort to include them is lovley :)
Amanda- I was that way at first with MiddleC, but now she cooks a meal one night each week. I go into the other room with a big glass of wine, and keep out her way unless she wants help. littlej is more confident and just needs a bit of watching and guidance. (but the glass of wine sure helps me!)
JasmyneTea- My mum isn't a confident cook at all, but she was wonderful and let me have my head and make a big mess in her kitchen without limitations. It's the best thing she could do and you learn a lot through your mistakes!
Stay warm Lovelies, and eat more pudding!
Arggghhh! get.in.my.belllllyyyy! ;)
ReplyDelete