Guest Post: Chocolate Sticky Toffee Brioche Pudding by Rukmini Iyer

I've decided to host a series of guest posts on Angloyankophile: a careful selection and curation of original pieces from my favorite bloggers in the UK, which I know you'll like and think you'll love.

Today, the lovely Rukmini Iyer of MissMinifer Cooks has generously offered to share her recipe for Chocolate Sticky Toffee Brioche Pudding. Yum. I met Mini a few weekends ago at the About Time x Tabasco Bloggers' Brunch and loved her story: she's a former-lawyer-turned-food-stylist (isn't that amazing?) who competed in the final round of Masterchef in 2013, trained as a pastry chef under Tom Kitchin, and now styles commercials and photo shoots for the likes of Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and Kenco Coffee. 

I'll just let you digest all of that for a second. Did I mention that she's also incredibly nice and super intelligent? (I also love how she uses words like "squash" and "dinky" in her recipes.)

So, without further ado ...

***

Chocolate Sticky Toffee Brioche Pudding

Hot chocolate, sticky dates and rich brioche come together beautifully in this quick, indulgent dessert. Make a large batch at the weekend to keep you going for the week ahead, or if you’ve got friends coming over, plate up in dinky individual ramekins or casserole dishes. (But do make a few extra, because people are going to ask for seconds …)

Preheat your oven to 180C. Melt 30g butter in a saucepan, and add 20g soft dark brown sugar along with 200g chopped dates. Heat for a minute until the sugar has melted, then pour in 450ml double cream. Warm through to just below boiling point, then add 120g chopped dark chocolate, and stir until melted. Pour the mixture through a sieve, and set aside the chocolatey dates. Allow the chocolate cream to cool a little before whisking in 4 egg yolks. To assemble the pudding, tear the brioche into chunks and pop half of it into your baking dish(es), topped with the chopped dates. Pour half of the chocolate custard over, then top with the second half of the brioche and the remaining chocolate custard. Squash it down well with the back of a wooden spoon, then bake for 25-30 minutes until firm to touch. It should still be nice and melty inside. Serve hot with a big dollop of crème fraiche. If you’re not eating them immediately, they do warm up beautifully in the microwave.

Useful Information:

Serves 6

Prep 10 minutes

Bake 30 minutes

Shopping List:

30g butter

20g soft dark brown sugar

200g dates, pitted

120g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids minimum)

450ml double cream

4 egg yolks

400g brioche

Thanks so much to Jaime for hosting my recipe on her beautiful blog- we'll be collaborating soon at www.missminifer.co.uk, so watch this space!

***

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful recipe, Mini! I can't wait to make this. Have a look at Mini's gorgeous work over on her blog, MissMinifer Cooks.

Photo and recipe © 2014 Rukmini Iyer