Yesterday Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, celebrated his 97th birthday. I planned for a while that I will mark this occasion by making his favourite dessert: Andrassy Pudding. The Queen has a different favourite cake, Tschumi’s Chocolate Cake, one that I made last year for my birthday. That chocolate cake will make its way onto my birthday celebration menu often, it is delightful. This cake-pudding is different, light, but it has a very chocolatey taste too. I like this one a lot and I will make it again. Its story is very cute too.

Count Andrassy was a relative to the Royal Family, invited to the Buckingham Palace before the WWI. He asked the kitchen to make a souffle. The souffle didn’t work, so the Chef iced with the chocolate and served it as it was. This new pudding proved to be a success. After having it, I can easily understand why it was so successful, this cake is delicious. Another thing I love about it, is that it has only 70g of sugar, besides the sugar that is in the dark chocolate. I love desserts with less sugar. Isn’t it fun that something that was a disaster turned out to be a recipe that will be made again and again?

I’ve seen the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen 6 years ago, when he was still taking Royal engagements. They came to Liverpool and my husband managed to get some gorgeous photos of them. See more here: Her Majesty The Queen, on the blog post about their visit.
As a staunch royalist, that was a very special occasion for me.

Ingredients for Andrassy Pudding

– 250ml milk
– 4 free range large eggs
– 2 free range egg yolks
– 10g cocoa powder
– 1 tsp vanilla paste
– 30g plain white flour
– 1 tsp melted butter to grease the pan
– 50g caster sugar
– 60g whipping cream
– 20g icing sugar
– 60g dark chocolate
– 2 tsp Rum (optional)

Start by making the creme pat. Heat the milk in a saucepan. In a bowl, whisk the two egg yolks with the sugar until they are pale. Add the cocoa and the sifted flour, the vanilla, and whisk. When the milk has boiled, pour it over the egg mixture. Now mix for one minute or so. Pour the creme into the saucepan, over medium heat. Stir continuously for 2 to 3 minutes. When the cream has thicken a bit it means that is ready. Take it off the heat and let it to cool down. Stir the cream so it gets colder quicker. It must be cold before you can use it for the souffle.

Preheat the oven at 180C or 160C for fan assisted ovens. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Scoop one third of the egg whites over the creme pat and mix. This will soften the creme and it will be easier to incorporate the rest of the egg whites. Now scoop the rest of the egg whites over the creme pat, and fold it gently. Make sure all the egg whites are folded in.

Butter the baking pan and pour the souffle mixture. Drop the pan from 5 cm height on the worktop, so the mixture gets leveled easily. Bake the souffle for 40 to 45 minutes. The souffle will rise and then drop, and this is exactly how it should be. Remember that the recipe is for a failed souffle with a twist.

After the souffle is baked, take it from the oven and leave it to cool. Meanwhile, make the chocolate ganache to cover the pudding. In a ceramic bowl, put the whipping cream and the icing sugar. Stir until the icing sugar is dissolved in the cream. Add the Rum, if you want, that is my twist. Put the chocolate, broken in small bits on top. Heat the chocolate ganache in the microwave for a few seconds, take out and stir with a teaspoon. Repeat until all the chocolate is melted in the cream. The ganache should have a lovely smooth finish. Cool it down a bit, before pouring it over the Andrassy Pudding.

The dessert is ready to be served.

Do you like chocolate desserts? What do you think of this failed souffle, turned a special dessert with its own name, Andrassy Pudding, and all.