Chocolate Christmas Pudding

Preheat the oven to 160˚C. Place the dates into a saucepan and cover with the brandy. Bring to the boil and turn off the heat and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Once the dates are soft, blend them into a smooth mixture and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the Vanilla Extract and beat for a further few minutes. One at a time, add the eggs, beating thoroughly after adding each one. Sift the flour and the cocoa and add to the egg mixture, beating well. Add the melted chocolate and the reserved date mixture and mix well. Spoon the mixture into a greased bundt cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

To make the Chocolate Sauce, place the cream, sugar, chocolate and butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and allow to melt gently, stirring to combine until smooth and glossy. To serve, invert the cooled cake onto a serving plate, drizzle over the chocolate sauce, fill the centre with fresh gooseberries and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Serves: 12

Tip: Grease AND flour the bundt tin to prevent sticking. Only invert the cake once it has cooled in the tin