Take: 450ml cream; 150g good plain chocolate; 4 egg yolks; 1 heaped dsp sugar.

(It’s a good idea to make these the day before you plan to eat them, so they have plenty of time to chill. They really are yummiest that way!)

1. Preheat the oven to 130 degrees C.
2. Bring the cream gently to the boil and then break the chocolate into the pan, stirring the chocolate into the cream so that it melts and combines.
3. Meanwhile, whisk up the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl.
4. Once the chocolate is thoroughly melted, give the mixture one last good stir and then pour it into the egg/sugar mixture, whisking all the ingredients thoroughly together.
5. Put the kettle on.
6. Pour or ladle the chocolatey goodness into small pots (ramekins, espresso cups, whatever you have!) and stand the pots in a deep dish such as a casserole dish or a roasting tin. Then pour the boiled water from the kettle into the dish so that the chocolate pots are standing in hot water, about half way up the sides of the pots.
7. CAREFULLY put the dish into the oven and bake for 40-60 minutes, until the chocolate mixture has just about set, but still looks a bit soft and wobbly.
8. Take the dish out of the oven, and the pots out of the dish and then leave them to cool before putting them in the fridge to chill. Take them out of the fridge about an hour or so before you want to eat them, so they can warm back up to room temperature. This way, you get the absolute maximum chocolatey flavour. Yum.

Makes 5-6 small pots. You REALLY don’t need more than one small pot per person as these are seriously rich puddings. Mmmmm.

FIENDISH TIP:
There is bound to be a bit of chocolate left stuck to the bottom of the saucepan after you stirred the chocolate into the hot cream. Pour a mugful of milk into the pan and warm it up - lovely hot chocolate drink to distract you from scoffing the puds before they chill!