These Maple Caramel Chocolate Puddings are absolutely fantastic for dinner parties, a quick dessert, or for when those cravings call. The puddings themselves are made with delicious caramel-y 100% pure Canadian maple sugar, 70% dark chocolate and rich dry stout for a seriously full flavour. They’re also crammed with a surprise centre of homemade maple caramel, that creates the perfect lava melting pot in the middle when served straight from the oven. I love topping these with clotted or whipped cream and an extra generous drizzle of Amber or Dark 100% pure Canadian maple syrup.
This post is kindly sponsored by Maple From Canada UK.
What makes these maple caramel chocolate puddings so delightful?
Maple caramel and chocolate is match made in heaven, but there are more reasons than one as to why these puddings are fantastic:
- Make the maple caramel in advance, and use it for everything from topping ice cream, drizzling on pancakes or adding to your morning coffee.
- The puddings take no longer than 15 minutes to bake!
- They’re great for an impressive dessert with plenty of flavour.
Why use dry stout in these maple caramel chocolate puddings?
You might think that adding stout to a cake is an odd addition, but actually this ingredient is superb in cake mixture. Here’s why:
- It gives the puddings a complex finish, with a richer and more rounded flavour
- The bitterness from the hops beautifully complements the sweetness of the chocolate and sugars
- It adds moisture, richness and a gorgeous dark colour to the puddings
How to make homemade maple caramel for these chocolate puddings:
Making your own caramel can be daunting, but with a few failsafe tips, you really can make your own maple caramel yourself at home!
- Be sure to dissolve all the sugar on a LOW heat.
- Do not stir the sugar and water mixture once it starts to simmer.
- Make sure the sides of your pan are clean, with no sugar spots clinging to them. If you can see a few crystals, use a silicon pastry brush dipped in water to wash down the sides of the pan.
- Let it cool completely before refridgerating
- Store your caramel in the fridge – it’ll keep for up to a month
- For runnier caramel, heat it in the microwave in 5 second intervals, or over a very low heat on the stove.
Tips for storing and freezing these maple caramel chocolate puddings:
Storing
These puddings can be made ahead of time, then kept in the fridge for up to a day. When ready, remove from the fridge, bake and serve.
Freezing
Make the pudding mixture ahead of time, fill your ramekins and wrap well in clingfilm. Place into freezer bags and freeze for up to a month. These can be baked from frozen but will require 10-15 minutes extra in the oven.
Did you know?
Maple syrup is classed based on its colour and flavour profile. The colours and flavours will change throughout the spring harvest and range from a light, delicate taste through to a dark, strong taste. Using the correct maple syrup in recipes changes everything.
Golden. This syrup comes from maple sap harvested at the very beginning of the season and has a sweet, delicate flavour. Perfect for topping yoghurts and ice cream.
Amber. A pure, rich taste and a magnificent amber colouring, this is fantastic for vinaigrettes and desserts.
Dark. This syrup has a more pronounced caramel flavour – perfect for cooking, baking and sauces and especially good for fruity dishes.
Very dark. This syrup is harvested at the end of the season and has a rich and distinctive flavour. Beautiful for sauces and glazes.
See how I made these Maple Caramel Chocolate Puddings over on Instagram!
Maple Caramel Chocolate Puddings
Ingredients
For the maple caramel
- 115 ml water
- 250 g 100% pure Canadian maple sugar
- 230 ml double cream
- 45 g salted butter
For the chocolate puddings
- 125 g unsalted butter + extra for greasing
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 150 g dark chocolate broken into squares
- 75 g 100% pure Canadian maple sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 90 ml dry stout
- 50 g plain flour
To finish
- Clotted cream to serve
- 100% pure Canadian maple syrup preferably Amber or Dark, to drizzle
Instructions
To make the caramel
- In a saucepan, combine the maple sugar and water. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- Place the saucepan on a low heat and allow the mixture to amalgamate for around 3-5 minutes, until the sugar has completely dissolved. During this time, do not mix or stir the sugar.
- Increase the heat to medium and bring the sugar syrup to a simmer. Again, do not stir. Have patience with the mixture – stirring will only cause the sugar to crystallise and become grainy.
- Keeping an eye on the caramel at all times, you’ll notice it will begin to change colour. Monitor it closely to avoid it from burning and continue to heat until it turns a golden amber colour.
- Remove from the heat and pour in half of the cream. The mixture will foam up so be careful as you do this. Stir and then add the remaining cream and butter, mixing again until you get a consistent colour in the caramel.
- Carefully pour the caramel into a heatproof dish and let it cool for around 20 minutes. Then cover with plastic wrap and leave to firm up in the fridge overnight.
To make the chocolate puddings
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/350F then grease 4 large ramekins with butter. Dust the insides with cocoa powder and tip out the excess, ensuring the sides and bottoms are completely coated. Place on a baking tray until needed.
- Place the butter and dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl, then set it on top of a saucepan filled with a little water to create a bain-marie. Heat on a low to medium heat, stirring the mixture until completely melted. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, use electric beaters to beat the sugar, eggs and dry stout for 6-7 mins until thick, frothy and pale.
- Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs, then sift in the flour, and fold to combine.
- Carefully spoon the mixture into the moulds until they’re half full, then add a teaspoon of the maple caramel mixture in the centre and top the puddings with a little more chocolate mixture until they’re two-thirds full – leaving some space for the mixture to rise. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
- Remove from the fridge and bake for ~15 mins until they’re set on the top but still have a good wobble in the middle.
- Serve the puddings straight from the oven – either in their moulds or use a palette knife to carefully loosen the edges and invert to release.
- Top with clotted cream and a generous drizzle of Amber of Dark 100% pure Canadian maple syrup.
Notes
Subscribe to my coffee chats
Subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter for exclusive recipes, as well as early access + discounts to newly launched workshops and e-courses. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Other recipes like these Maple Caramel Chocolate Puddings:
