SPICED CARROT PUDDING WITH DARK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

You know you're obsessed with all things food when you wake up in the middle of the night to sketch out new recipes. And I don't just mean writing out an ingredient list... I mean full-blown diagrams with labels indicating what goes where and how the finished dish is going to look. 

Such has been my lot over the past couple of nights. I'm not complaining though - there are just tons and tons of strange and exciting things that I'd love to try out. If my hands could keep up with the long list of recipes I plan to share, you'd be bombarded with a lot more than I've been dishing out lately. Thankfully, there's no real hurry, is there?

This particular recipe isn't all that strange (well, depending on what you're used to eating). It's a wonderfully gooey treat that's bound to satisfy any sweet tooth. It's bursting with freshly grated carrots, plump raisins and a heady mix of warm spices. As if that wasn't enough, the puddings are also topped with a silky dark chocolate frosting. 

Ingredients

(serves 4)

- 2 large carrots (grated)

- 1.5 cups plain flour

- 1/4 cup ground almonds

- 2 tbsp raisins

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup soy milk

- 1/4 cup sunflower oil

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 tsp ground ginger

- 1 tbsp chopped pickled ginger

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp nutmeg

- pinch of salt

- 8 dark chocolate squares

- 2 tbsp soy milk

To make the puddings, place the grated carrots, flour, sugar, ground almonds and raisins in a large mixing bowl.

In another small bowl, whisk the soy milk and oil with a fork and add to the first bowl containing the other ingredients. Mix to form a thick batter.

Add the rest of the ingredients - vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt - and mix until evenly distributed.

Oil four pudding tins and dust the inside with some ground almonds. Fill each tin (almost to the top) with the pudding batter and place in a baking tray. Fill the baking tray about a quarter of the way up with some warm water.

Bake the puddings in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 5 for about 40-45 mins. Use a toothpick to test if it is cooked all the way through (it should come out clean).

Take the puddings out of the oven and leave to cool upside down for a few minutes. They should slide out easily after a couple of minutes.

To make the chocolate frosting, place 6-8 large squares of dark chocolate with 2 tablespoons of soy milk in a small microwavable dish. Microwave for about 20 seconds and then stir continuously with a spoon until all the chocolate had completely melted to form a thick sauce. If it's too thick, add an extra dash of soy milk to loosen the mixture. 

Plate up the puddings on individual saucers and spoon the chocolate frosting over the top. Yum!