Cocoa Brownie Pudding

Name: Cocoa Brownie Pudding
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 50 gm salted butter; 1 large egg; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 3 tbsp cocoa powder; 1 tbsp flour; 1 tsp vanilla; sea salt flakes; vanilla ice cream

An easy and delicious dessert to bake in under 30 mins. You need flour, cocoa powder, egg, butter, sugar and little salt to balance it. Crackle top crust, gooey chocolate center and brownie texture sides.

If you are new here, you wouldn’t know the Self saucing chocolate pudding. That recipe was my first ever Ninja bake along recipe when lockdown started and it was absolute HIT. I love it to this day and it is a fantastic crowd pleasing dessert. This recipe is a brownie but think of a brownie meets pudding. I specify it as a Cocoa brownie pudding as most brownie recipes call for dark chocolate but this recipe doesn’t.

A few tricks make this dessert absolutely decadent and delicious. You need only 5 ingredients to bring this recipe together, which you most likely have in your cupboard right now. There are a few optional add ons to this recipe which would work but you don’t need to add them. I was inspired to make this recipe because of Ina Garten and my self saucing chocolate pudding recipe. But I wanted to make it more accessible and approachable but mainly I wanted to make it easy to prepare.

What are the types of brownies?

There are 3 main types of brownies, cakey, fudgy, chewy. This recipe includes a little of all three and add chocolate lava cake into it too. Brownies usually come under bars and squares or even cookies but this recipe is more of a dessert as it combines a bit of everything.

What are ingredients are needed to make this Cocoa Brownie Pudding?

Egg –

This recipe needs only one egg but it must be large. You can make this eggless with a flaxseed egg (1 tbsp flaxseed powder and 3 tbsp water – stirred together until thick)

Sugar –

You can use granulated sugar, castor sugar, cane sugar granulated brown sugar. I wouldn’t recommend using icing sugar or soft brown sugar as they won’t help give you that crust.

Butter –

Salted butter does the trick here. Don’t worry about the salt content, it balances out the sweetness. It must be melted. You can use vegan butter to keep it dairy free if needed.

Cocoa powder –

This is a cocoa brownie hence use the best cocoa powder you can get. Dutch processed cocoa is the better option but use what you can get your hands on.

Flour –

I have used all purpose flour to make this pudding you can use almond flour to make this gluten-free as well.

Add on options:

Vanilla –

A drop goes a long way. Extract is the best option. You would add it while beating the eggs and sugar.

Coffee –

Ideally espresso powder is the best option, heat it with the butter.

Liquor –

I have made this recipe with coffee liqueur, Cointreau, de casis and peppermint as well. They are all delicious options.

What equipment do you need to make this Cocoa Brownie Pudding?

We need a large mixing bowl and whisk. If you have an electric beater you can use that too. You could also use a stand mixer to make this dessert but it is a small portion hence I wouldn’t recommend it. A rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the batter is essential, you could use a metal spoon too. I have melted my butter in the microwave but you can melt it over the stove. I like to bake this in a shallow soup bowl which is baked in a Bain Marie in the oven, hence you need a large bowl to place the soup bowl in.

How to make this Cocoa brownie pudding?

Preheat the oven to 160℃, get a shallow soup bowl around 6-7 inches in diameter and a larger oven proof tray for it to sit in. Set aside. Melt the butter in a microwave or over the stove and if you are feeling fancy you can brown it over the stove. In a mixing bowl add the egg and sugar. We need to whisk this for 5-6 minutes continuously until the sugar is almost dissolved, the mixture has doubled in volume, it has become pale and creamy. It is called ribbon consistency. Sift over the cocoa powder and flour, fold into the egg mixture until just combined. Pour in the melted butter and fold again, DO NOT OVER MIX. Pour the batter into the shallow soup bowl, place it in the large one tray and fill it with hot water (half way). Bake for 15-18 mins, until the top has set and a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out with wet, sticky, jammy crumbs. We don’t want the tooth pick clean, if its clean – you have over baked it. Serve it warm with a dusting of cocoa powder and scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Make a note on the cooking time:

The baking time will vary depending on the size of the baking dish. The wider the bowl the lesser time it will take to bake, the smaller the bowl the longer it will take to bake. I baked this pudding in an 8inch shallow soup bowl making a very thin layered pudding hence it was ready in 15 mins.

How to bake this Cocoa brownie pudding without the oven/over the stove?

Pour the batter into a shallow soup bowl, place the bowl over a wire rack in a large stock pot. Add a little water at the bottom of the pot and cover. Place on medium heat and cook, covered for 10 mins. Open the lid and have a look at it, if the top is set remove the lid and let it cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes. If the top is still wet, let it cook for a few minutes more covered. The top will have a crust it sets but it won’t be as crunchy as it would if it were baked in the oven. But it will still taste BOMB.

How to reheat this Cocoa brownie pudding?

I would recommend heating it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds. Dust with cocoa powder and serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

How to store this Cocoa brownie pudding?

I would recommend storing it in the shallow soup bowl, covered with tin foil and placed in the fridge. This will last a couple of days after which it will still taste good but won’t have that fudge texture.

If you are looking for more chocolate recipes, click here. Now that we have covered how to cook this Cocoa Brownie Pudding, you can have a look at the ninja bake along video on my instagram but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.