I love this recipe because you can cook it really easily from store-cupboard ingredients so it’s great if you have unexpected people for dinner, or if you want a pudding and haven’t thought ahead. It doesn’t need any chocolate, just cocoa powder which is one of those things that I usually keep in the cupboard. It’s called a ‘surprise’ pudding because when you serve it after cooking it has created its own chocolate sauce which is at the bottom of the pudding.
Serves 6
Ingredients
150g butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence or extract
110g Self-raising flour
3 level Tablespoons cocoa
3 Tablespoons milk
150g brown sugar (or I’ve substituted demerara sugar)
3 level tablespoons cocoa
3/4 pint hot water
Method
Cream together the butter and caster sugar then beat in the eggs and vanilla essence. Next fold in the flour and cocoa powder and mix in the milk. Pour the mixture into a pudding bowl or something similar – anything ovenproof will do.
Mix together the last three ingredients to form a syrup (sugar, cocoa, water) and pour this mixture on top of the cake mixture-it will look like you have covered the cake in brown water that just sits there but don’t worry, that’s fine. When the pudding is cooked the sauce will be at the bottom.
Bake at 190 c/ 375 f /gas mark 5 for approx. 40 minutes. Don’t overcook as the sauce starts to disappear if you do!
Serve warm or hot with cream or ice-cream – delicious!
mrsfenton 
Sarah, this is DELICIOUS!! And so easy to make. I see what you mean about the brown water … but it turns into a really yummy sauce 🙂 Thank you for sharing this 🙂
I’m glad you persevered with the dirty water!!!
Ginny reliably tells me this recipe freezes really well and tastes just as fresh as when it’s first made when you reheat it.
This brings back memories Sarah – in our house is was called Chocolate Puddle Pudding! Must get round to actually cooking it
Paget
How funny! Guess it is bit of a puddle – especially before you cook it!
I’ve just made it. Very nice and my children loved it. Pleased I used a large dish or it would have overflown.
Good point Sophie, thanks for that. Glad everyone enjoyed it!
It was very,very well received by my guests. I used to make this for my children when they were small and the lemon counterpart. Love,y re ipe a d very easy , thankyou.