Diana Chan's adults-only prune pudding recipe

This recipe is all about decadence and indulgence.

I was inspired to create a recipe for a Christmas in July dinner party.

Think cold winter nights sitting in front of an open fire, indulging in this warm soft-centered boozy prune pudding served with a warm brandy butterscotch.

It is best served with a dollop of cream or vanilla bean ice cream. I guarantee it will leave you craving more.

This recipe also freezes well so it don’t be shy about making a double batch and saving some for later.

If you do not have brandy handy, disaronno (almond liqueur) or whisky works a treat as well. Alternatively, to keep it under 18, simply remove the brandy. Rug up, snuggle up and dig in.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

Prune pudding

280g pitted prunes, roughly chopped

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup boiling water

60ml brandy (optional)

Batter

40g brown sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs, at room temperature

185g plain flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

Brandy butterscotch sauce:

1 ½  cups brown sugar, loosely packed

1 ½ cups thickened cream

½ tsp vanilla extract

70g unsalted butter

60ml brandy (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Grease a muffin tray with butter or grease. Any size is fine as long as you fill only ⅔ of the way up. Line a 20 cm square cake pan with overhang.
• For the smashed prunes, place the ingredients in a bowl, sprinkle over baking soda and pour over boiling water. Let it stand for 10 minutes, add in the brandy then mash well with a fork.
• For the pudding batter, place butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat until combined and smooth.
• Add egg and beat until incorporated.
• Add flour then sprinkle baking powder across the surface. Mix until flour is incorporated.
• Add dates, mix quickly until dates are well incorporated into the batter. Pour the batter into greased muffin tray.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• In the meantime, prepare brandy butterscotch sauce. Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, stir, then bring to simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring once, then remove from heat. Serve warm.
• Turn pudding moulds upside down on serving plate. Serve warm with warm butterscotch sauce and ice cream or cream.

For more on Diana Chan see here.