Hello! Happy Thinking Day! As promised here is the recipe for Chocolate Surprise Pudding - it's yummy!! You may need some adult help though as you have to use a hot oven and a hot kettle, so BE VERY CAREFUL!!

You will need:
3 oz (75g) self raising flour
1 oz (25g) cocoa powder
pinch of salt
4 oz (100g) butter or margarine
4 oz (100g) castor sugar
2 eggs
2-3 drops of vanilla essence (you don't have to use this if you don't want to)
1-2 tablespoons milk

For the sauce:
4 oz (100g) soft brown sugar
1 oz (25g) cocoa powder
1/2 pt hot water

What to do:

Find a 2 pint baking dish or pie dish, and butter the sides of it really well.
Put it on a baking tray so that it is easier to take it out of the oven (mine also overflowed, so it stops the oven getting covered in chocolate too!!).
Turn the oven on to warm up (375F, 190C, Gas Mark 5) and find a pair of oven gloves.
Fill and switch on the kettle to boil.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt onto a plate or into a bowl and put it to one side.
Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is creamy.
Lightly beat the eggs and vanilla essence in a small bowl. Gradually beat the egg into the creamed mixture.
Add a little of the flour with some of the egg to stop the mixture separating.
Fold in the rest of the flour with a tablespoon and mix in just enough milk to make a soft consistency (what I would say was very thick soup!).
Spoon the cake mixture into the buttered dish and spread it level.
Put the soft brown sugar and cocoa powder into a small bowl.
Stir in the hot water (Please ask an adult to help) and mix well to make a chocolate sauce.
Pour the sauce over the cake mixture in the baking dish.
Put the pudding into the warmed oven and bake for about 40 minutes.(Ask an adult to help you here too)
The 'surprise' is that during baking the cake rises to the top and the sauce goes to the bottom.
You have a chocolate pudding with its own yummy sauce.
Serve it hot with cream, or ice cream (or both!!!!) - delicious!!!

There you go then, have a chocolate feast. You could also try putting in some orange peel and juice, or some mint or coffee essence to give the pudding another surprise! (please don't put all of that in at once though, as it would taste pretty foul!)
Anyway, I'd better go now because writing this recipe for you has made me feel a little peckish!
Hope you enjoy trying this out, but whatever you do...ask for some help when you have to use a kettle and the oven - I did!
I made my housemate Emma do the sauce and then made her put it in the oven and take it out - well, she had to earn her pudding after all!!!
Bye for now, be good and keep smiling,

Tawny Owl xx :-)

MARSHMALLOW RECIPE

1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar (for coating the marshmallows)

1. Prepare a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan as follows. Invert the pan. Cut a piece of aluminum foil long enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan.
Place the foil over the inverted pan and fold down the sides and corners just to shape.
Remove the foil and turn the pan right side up.
Place the foil in the pan and press it gently into place.
With a pastry brush or crumpled wax paper coat the foil thoroughly but lightly with vegetable shortening. Set aside.

2. Place 1/2 cup cold water in the large bowl of an electric mixer, Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and set aside.

3. Place the sugar, corn syrup, salt and the other 1/2 cup water in a heavy 1 1/2 quart or 2 quart saucepan over moderately low heat.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil.
Cover for 3 minutes to allow any sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan to dissolve.
Uncover, raiser the heat to high, inset a candy thermometer, and let the syrup boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 240 degrees.
Do not overcook. Remove from the heat.

4. Beating constantly at medium speed, pour the syrup slowly into the gelatin mixture.
After all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and beat for 15 minutes until the mixture is lukewarm, snowy white, and the consistency of whipped marshmallow, adding the vanilla a few minutes before the end of the beating.
(During the beating, occasionally scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula).
The marshmallow will thicken and become sticky--if the mixture crawls up on the beaters as it thickens, carefully wipe it down with a rubber spatula.

5. Pour the slightly warm and thick marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and, with your forefinger, scrape all the mixture off the beaters. Smooth the top of the marshmallow.

6. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours or longer if it is more convenient.

7. Then sift or strain confectioners sugar generously onto a large cutting board to cover a surface larger then your pan.
Invert the marshmallow over the sugared surface. Remove the pan and peel off the foil.
Strain confectioners sugar generously over the top of the marshmallow.

8. To cut into even 1 inch strips use a ruler and toothpicks to mark it every 1 inch.

9. Prepare a long, heavy, sharp knife by brushing the blade lightly with vegetable shortening.
Cutting down firmly with the full length of the blade, cut the marshmallow into 1 inch strips.
(After cutting the first slice, just keep the blade sugared to keep it from sticking.)

10. Dip the cut sides of each strip into confectioners sugar to coat them thoroughly--you should have enough excess sugar on the board to do this.

11. Now cut each strip into 1 inch squares. (You may place three strips together and cut through them all at once.) Roll the marshmallows in the sugar to coat the remaining sides. Shake off excess sugar.

12. Store in a plastic box or any airtight container--or plastic bag. Fondly remembering my kids as young teenagers coating the kitchen with confectioners sugar and having a great time...

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