I love corner shops, they have always been there for me.
I could always count on them to have enough lollies, chips and ice cream to make me grin like a spoilt child.
They were perfect for the after school snack of pies and sausage rolls in my teenage years.
They were the place to get the newspaper and magazine for the bus/train ride to work as a young adult.
I also love the corner shop because whenever I have a craving and want to make something simple and quick… I can simply duck over to the little shop around the corner. No need to start the engine of the car. No need to dress nicely.
Sure its much more expensive, but the convenience is far more important when you just want a homemade chocolate cookie fix.
The corner shop became my hero when I decided to pull this together from out of nowhere. I had all the ingredients in the pantry, except the cream and pears. They had everything that I needed and this pudding was whipped up in no time at all.
Recipe taken from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
Ingredients for pudding
800g canned pear halves in juice
125g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
125g caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/ Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease a 22cm square or round ovenproof dish.
2/ Drain the pears and arrange them on the base of the dish.
3/ Put all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a batter with a soft dropping consistency.
4/ Spread the brown batter over the pears, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
5/ Take it out of the oven and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes, whilst you are waiting for it to cool, make the chocolate sauce into slabs.
6/ Cut into slabs and serve with chocolate sauce
Ingredients for chocolate sauce
75g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
125ml pure cream
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1/ Break up the chocolate and put into a heavy-based saucepan.
2/ Add the remaining ingredients, then place the pan over a gentle heat and let everything melt together.
3/ Once everything has melted, stir well, take off the heat and pour into a jug to serve.
Please excuse the dirty spoon. I couldn't help but sneak in a bite whilst photographing the dish
Tips from the cookbookmaniac
* There aren’t any. This was so easy to put together and bake!
Comments
OohLookBel
May 12, 2010 at 10:33 pmI’ve made this dish, and it’s wonderful. Love how the chocolate and pears are meant for each other 🙂
foodwink
May 12, 2010 at 10:42 pmI have the same cookbook! After seeing how great this pudding looks, I think I should dig it out again 🙂
Anh
May 12, 2010 at 11:52 pmI remember this from the show (or from other blogs?). Really like how it looks.
angie
May 13, 2010 at 12:01 amLooks like the perfect weather for this! Comforting food.
Maria
May 13, 2010 at 5:41 amI remember this recipe! This would be a simple dinner party dessert 😀
Lisa @ bakebikeblog
May 13, 2010 at 8:06 amooooh what a perfect winter dessert 🙂 Comfort food at its best really 🙂
sweetlife
May 13, 2010 at 2:02 pmthis looks fab..I love nigella her recipes never fail
sweetlife
Conor @ HoldtheBeef
May 13, 2010 at 4:30 pmGoing to spend a dollar or two on mixed lollies at the corner shop was always so much fun. The only problem was that you never had any left by the time you got home again.
Beautiful wintery dessert, that rich dark colour is super inviting.
FFichiban
May 13, 2010 at 9:09 pmOoh this looks so decadent! Mmmm perfect for snuggling up with in this cool weather!
Anita
May 13, 2010 at 9:40 pmThat chocolate sauce looks so tempting… 🙂
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
May 13, 2010 at 9:56 pmI think I spent 90% of my pocket money while growing up at the local corner store!! I blame their large selection of sweets for luring me in their doors every morning!!
This dessert looks fantastic for a very cold winters night!!
peachkins
May 14, 2010 at 10:07 amI just have to looks at the chocolate sauce and my mouth waters…
blowing peachkisses
The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
cityhippyfarmgirl
May 14, 2010 at 1:42 pmI have fond memories of a friend and I raiding her money box to sneak down to the corner store for mixed lolly bags. They can be very handy!
That pudding looks superb. Rich and chocolatey.
Barbara
May 14, 2010 at 9:32 pmI love Nigella’s recipes! I haven’t made this one though. Chocolate and pears are a super combination! Your photos are making me drool at this early hour!
Trissa
May 15, 2010 at 11:19 pmI love corner shops too! The shopkeepers usually know you by name and sometimes when I don’t bring enough money they tell me I can get my goodies and pay later! ha!
panda
May 16, 2010 at 12:28 pmooh i do love nigella lawson’s recipes – this one looks yum. i have a corner shop near by house and it’s so handy for the late at night baking and i’ve run out of ingredients 🙂
tasteofbeirut
May 17, 2010 at 10:25 amThe pear and the chocolate combo look so sinful and totally irresistible!Glad it was easy!
grace
May 18, 2010 at 7:27 amof course you had to take a bite–why wait? it’s luscious and a perfect example of why i adore nigella. 🙂
TasteHongKong
May 18, 2010 at 4:22 pmI understand you need a bite first, the pudding looks so inviting.