This is not a particularly pretty pudding (and I’ll be the first to say it.) This is a pudding that’s all about chocolate. I can forgive the appearance if the flavour is good, and in this case, it is. I had an “oh my god” moment while licking the spoon in fact.

It consists of only a few ingredients, and doesn’t take long to pull together or require any additional steps such as icing, which makes it very appealing to me for dinner parties when you’ve already got enough other things going on without creating extra work for yourself. It should be eaten while still hot from the oven, on the day of making. I personally like to ever-so-slightly undercook it to leave it a little bit soft in the centre, but if you prefer it to be more consistent all the way through then leave it in for an extra 3-5 minutes, depending on the ferocity of your oven.

Use good quality chocolate, because this is the key flavour, and what it’s all about. (I used a “Waitrose 1” 70% cocoa single estate Ecuador dark chocolate, which gave it a lovely flavour but didn’t break the bank or make me feel guilty for mixing it in with all the other ingredients…)

Dress it up with a dusting cocoa powder and beautiful green chopped pistachios, with a side of bright magenta raspberries. Serve with a generous scoop of pistachio ice cream, and let it melt into the warm chocolate cake.

It doesn’t keep and should be eaten hot from the oven for best effect. If you have leftovers you can heat them up in the microwave or under the grill for up to two days afterwards, if you store it in an airtight container in the fridge.