Sticky Chocolate Guinness Pudding

I’ve had about three Christmas roasts in the past week, with another booked on Sunday and one more the week after that. ‘Tis the season, right? Thankfully, I haven’t had to cook them all but I’m not sure how much more I can fit in. I love a roast potato, pig in blanket and sage & onion stuffing as much as the next girl but even I have limits.

One thing I know I won’t get sick of though, is dessert. Leave enough time after a big meal and I’m always looking forward to what’s to come by way of something sweet. For s Christmas dessert, you’ve got the option to go hot or cold, fruity or chocolately, or keep it traditional with a steamed pudding set alight with brandy. Most years, I’ll make a big pavlova as well as something rich and hot. For balance. This year, I’ve decided it will be this sticky chocolate Guinness pudding.

My favourite place to get a slice of Guinness cake is at Chatsworth Bakehouse in Crystal Palace. It’s one of, if not the best in London. Dense and moist, deeply dark, and topped with a barely sweetened cream cheese frosting, often rippled with blackcurrant jam. It lives rent free in my brain and I wanted to recreate something along those lines but more dessert leaning, and definitely something warm and sticky.

Nigella Lawson likely holds the record for the most used chocolate Guinness cake recipe. It’s very very good and a lot of recipes you’ll come across, including this one, use hers as a starting point. The differences here are that I use a mix of caster and light brown sugar, and I tried to make it all a bit more airy, so eating it after a big meal doesn’t feel too insane.

I also really lean into the Guinness vibes with a buttery, stout forward caramel sauce poured generously on top. And as a nod to the traditional cream cheese topping, I dollop on some slightly salted whipped sour cream to finish, letting it melt a little on the warm cakes. You could also spike this with a splash of Baileys or whiskey for some extra oopmh if you fancy (I will be).

If a chocolatey, stout dessert isn’t quite what you’re in the mood for, then there’s plenty of other inspiration in the archives of this newsletter. Everything from a muscovado sugar creme brulee, classic pavlova, miso banana cake, to a white chocolate pannacotta or simple olive oil almond cake. There are no rules at Christmas so go with whatever your heart desires.

There are also some recent recipes over on my Guardian column including my cover girl of coffee caramel choux buns and a pistachio and cherry meringue cake going out this weekend.

I would love to see what you bake over this season so please tag me in any photos online or send them in the chat!

Enjoy,

Benjamina x

These are the exact moulds that I use which are 200ml capacity. You can use slightly larger ones, it’ll just make fewer puddings and will need a couple more minutes in the oven.