No Bake 3 Layer Pudding - Sugar & Spice by Radhika

This easy yet extravagant 3 layer pudding is made using the best combination of ingredients: chocolate, strawberries and brandy!

I love baking. I bake almost regularly and when I’m not baking you’ll find me researching recipes online and going through food blogs for inspiration. After my oven broke down last week, I felt like my world collapsed. I didn’t know what to do, what to make and what to look for. It was as if I couldn’t produce something worthy of posting on my blog. That was when I decided to step up my game and make a dessert with no baking involved whatsoever.

With no clue of what I’m going to make I went food shopping for the post and that was when I saw plum cake. I brought it along with a few boxes of fresh strawberries. The testing moment was when I had to think what to do with it. I knew I was doing something with layers but what?!

I crumbled the plum cake and added a few good slugs of brandy to it. While it was resting I made chocolate pudding the way I used to when I was really young and the way I’ve always made it. It is by far the easiest recipe I have come across and after reading this probably you will have too. I found this recipe on about.com, I know it doesn’t have the reputation of being the “best recipe website” but this cheats chocolate pudding is the quickest and requires really basic ingredients. If you’re in a hurry, you NEED TO read this recipe!

I found the freshest strawberries and these were probably the last of the season so I added a bold layer of them . I have to say that a layer of good ripe strawberries is unbeatable in any dessert, it adds that extra layer of texture and taste. I especially love how the sourness from the strawberries cuts down on the extra sweetness in any dessert and makes it a perfectly balanced one. The final product was one hell of a dessert. Brandy soaked plum cake topped with two layers of fresh ripe strawberries with lots of chocolate pudding on top! No word comes close to describing what that tasted like and I’m dying to try this with whiskey too!

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

For the Bottom Layer:

Plum Cake, 1 cup (or any cake you prefer)
Brandy, 1 tablespoon (or any liquer you prefer)

For the Middle Layer:

Strawberries, 150 grams, Sliced

For the Top Layer:

Chocolate, 80 grams
Milk, 1 1/2 cup (or 360 ml)
Cornflour, 1 tablespoon
Sugar, 1/4 cup (or 2 tablespoons or 50 grams) *OPTIONAL
Vanilla Essence, 1 teaspoon
Salt, a pinch

Process:

In a small bowl, crumble the plum cake roughly and add the brandy to it. Give them a good mix and chill in the refrigerator.
Whilst the plum cake is chilling make your chocolate pudding. In a pan, melt chocolate and milk together on low heat, keep stirring so that the chocolate doesn’t stick to the bottom. Save 2 tablespoons from the milk to be used later.
Transfer sugar, cornflour and salt to a cup and add the 2 tablespoon of milk you saved to it. Mix well and make sure there are no lumps.
When the chocolate has melted and the milk looks like hot chocolate, add in the milk mixture you made in step 3. Keep the mixture on low heat and stir until the pudding thickens. This should take about 8-10 minutes. The time differs on every individual, I like my pudding medium thick but if you like it thicker you should let it cook a little longer.
When the pudding has thickened to your liking, take it off the heat and transfer to another bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. so that it TOUCHES the pudding. This will ensure that a film does not form over the pudding after cooling. This is highly important.
When the pudding has cooled slightly add in the vanilla essence and chill in the refrigerator until completely cool.
Assemble the dessert when you’re ready to serve. In a serving dish of your choice, add in the brandy soaked plum cake at the bottom, top with 2 layers of strawberries and a final layer of chocolate pudding. Garnish with some fresh strawberries and mint leaves and enjoy!

TIP: To serve small portions, serve in shot glasses. Use the ripest strawberries for the best results.