Among My Souvenirs: Chocolate Fudge Pudding

Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:26:45 -0500
From: nabooko
Subject: Among My Souvenirs: Chocolate Fudge Pudding

“There’s nothing left for me-
of days that used to be-
I live in memory . . .
Among my souvenirs.
Some letters tied with blue
A recipe  or two-  I find a rose
from you-  among my souvenirs , ,”

Call it nostalgia, melancholia or whatever, boxes and baggage we move from house to house, town to town, etc.  are souvenirs of a life past- memories we refuse to leave behind. Some we never look at again once they are tucked away- others we pour over frequently- desperately trying to relive the day or the moment-

Frequently I have written here about my various moves over the decades, dragging along boxes of memories and treasures – My 1973 move to Chatham county.  But never have I unpacked for you, my box of recipes-

Three weeks ago, I yearned for something out of the ordinary for a special dessert-  What could I make to meet the demand? I pulled out my ancient recipe box (actually a manila file folder) now soft and supple from 45 years of handling- Low and behold, there it was- My favorite recipe for Chocolate Fudge Pudding!

Tattered and torn, limp and fragile- a page from Woman’s Day Magazine 1954- How well I remember finding it in an “old” magazine in 1958! It was a real hoot at the time, because the 1954 estimate to make the dessert was .32 cents. I laughed at that estimate then and I rolled on the floor three weeks ago when read the cost of ingredients.

This is a chocolate cake that has its’ own self chocolate sauce- When cooked, there is a thick cake on top and a liquid chocolate sauce on the bottom. Dip in with a wide spoon, get both, flip over in a dish and walla- chocolate cake with a chocolate sauce on top- Fresh whipped cream adds to the decadent dish.

I always cook this in a rounded bottom casserole dish to make it easier to get the sauce. And be warned, after several servings- you end up with cake and very little sauce.  I have experimented several times with making additional sauce-  such as more boiling water and more brown sugar.  Learn by doing is the rule here.

Chocolate Fudge Pudding:

1 cup sifted flour                          2 tablespoons melted
2 teaspoon baking powder            shortening
1 teaspoon salt                             1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup granulated sugar               1/2 cp chopped pecans
 1/2 cup milk                                     1 1/2 cup packed                                                            brown sugar
                                                         

Sift four, baking powder, salt , granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons cocoa. Add milk, shortening and Vanilla: mix only until smooth. Add pecans. Put in a greased, shallow, 1 quart baking dish.  Mix brown sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons cocoa: sprinkle over mixture in baking dish. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the top. Bake in a moderate oven, 350- degrees for 40 mins. Serve warm or cold.  (I like it best at about room temp) (this pudding when baked, has a chocolate sauce on bottom and cake on top)

N.A. Booko

To see a pic of the original page from 1954 Woman’s Day- click on the web-link below:

www.mindspring.com/~expectations/fudge.jpg

Postscript: To those that know me, know that I live a near perfect flawless life- Seldom do any wrong- Shining example- etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.   But here, now, I must confess- I have done something really- well maybe unforgivable-

I liked the fudge pudding above so much last week, that it made me wonder how a peanut butter fudge pudding would taste. I tried it. Replaced the coca with peanut butter, the pecans with walnuts .other minor changes- . . .  but I realize I can’t use the Chatlist as a place of confession. . .

Nay not me- 

N.

1 Comment

  1. My Aussie son-in-law makes this as cupcakes. They always overflow the top of the pans so you have to scrape the toasted choc cake bits off the top of the pan (and eat them of course). This ensures each cake gets a portion of the pudding.

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