Chocolate Biscuit Pudding

I started uni on Monday!!! *gasp* ;)

Yup- after waking up terribly early at 6:30 (considering i usually wake up at around 10) and wondering whether the time on my clock was was actually the right time, then taking an hour and a half bus ride, which abruptly ended long before my stop, leading to much panic as I tried to find another bus, then arrived at the uni only to get confused as to where the lecture theatre actually was, I finally settled down into my first lecture (and met a really nice person too) :)

So a week on, what do I think of it?

Well- I'm not exactly thinking at the moment. I never realised how tiring 4 hours travelling everyday would so tiring, or how boring maths lectures could be. And I hate 8am maths lectures with a passion. Still- it's interesting, with all the meeting new people, bumping into high school friends, trying to find places and joining clubs (I'm still sad we don't have a food lovers club though *sigh* I guess the chocolate society will have to do). I sort of miss high school but in a way, I'm sort of happy to be in the next 'stage' of my life.



The other day we passed the suburb where we used to live when I was small which brought back many memories. It seems not too long ago that I was in preschool, madly screaming and banging on doors as my mother left me or when I started kindergarten, barely knowing english (I still don't remember how I quite communicated with others).

I actually feel a lot older now that I'm around all these 'big' people. A lot older than I'd like to feel, when inside, I know I'm still quite childish- I like to wear T shirts with huge cartoons on them, I like playing with cute stuffed toys, I like bright colourful things.....and I don't like coffee ;)

Which is all very well as this tiramisu looking dessert (as noted by grub) is actually chocolate biscuit pudding. No coffee whatsoever :) It's incredibly good, with deliciously rich chocolately mousse sandwiched between layers of milk soaked marie biscuits and scattered with cashews to give it some crunch. The crazily high amount of butter, chocolate, and whipped cream makes it terribly unhealthy but it's so good it's worth it!

I made this with my friends during the summer holidays and we had a very fun afternoon playing around with this recipe. We didn't quite have enough time to chill it until set (and wanted to eat it before we went home), which is why these photos are of a slice of melted and then rechilled pudding- but it's still so good!

Chocolate Biscuit Pudding
Recipe from here

8 oz chocolate chips
8 ozs butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
10 ozs Marie Biscuits (we used 1.5 packets)
3/4 cups sugar
1 cup whipped cream
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped cashew nuts
1 tbsp Rum (optional)
1 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of salt

1. Combine chocolate, rum, 1/4 cup water, and the vanilla in a heat-proof bowl. Set it over a pan of simmering water just until the chocolate melts. Cool completely to room temperature. Whisk butter until combined. Set aside.
2. Place egg whites, the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl. Beat on high speed until firm but not dry.
3. Place the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar in a bowl. Beat on high speed until pale yellow. With the mixer on low speed, add the chocolate mixture.
4. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then fold the rest in carefully with a rubber spatula.
5. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
6. Soak the biscuits in milk slightly. Layer a bottom of a square pan with them. Next layer with chocolate mixture (about 1/2 inch high). Sprinkle with cashew nuts. Follow with another layer of soaked biscuits and then the chocolate mixture and cashew nuts. Continue layering until all of the chocolate mixture is over. Make sure that the top layer is chocolate mixture and cashew nuts.
Chill for at least 2 hours