Coffee pudding

Who doesn't like coffee? Well, I don't. There's something about its taste that makes it sour and yucky. At least that's what I think and I never drink it. The closest thing to coffee that I can drink (when I wake up very early and I have to work) is a latte macchiato with a ton of sugar. And it's still sour, but at least it works. That being said, I find it surprising how much I like this coffee pudding. What's not surprising at all is what it does to me.

Oh, boy, you wouldn't wanna be around me after I eat it, restless is my middle name!

Ingredients:
For the pudding

125 grams unsalted butter

1 egg

100 grams (½ cup) sugar

1/3 cup strong brewed coffee + milk to ½ cup

130 grams (1 cup) flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

For the syrup:

½ cup strong coffee

½ cup milk or cream (unwhipped)

3 tbsp sugar

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 180ºC and grease 6 ramekins (or 6 ovenproof mugs, cups, whatever you like). My ramekins are 10 cm in diameter and 150 ml capacity and I only fill them halfway with the batter, I hope this helps and you can estimate know how many containers you need. If you prefer larger amounts, 4 or 5 containers will do just fine.

Brew your coffee first. I have baked this with both 3-in-1 sachets and strong coffee, but I find it has much flavor when you use coffee instead of those tasteless sachets. If you decide to use 3-in-1, you will need 5 sachets: 3 for the batter (use ½ cup of warm milk) and 2 for the syrup (use ½ cup warm milk and ½ cup cream).

Remember, you want your coffee strong and you will use 1/3 cup for the batter and 1/2 cup for the syrup. If you end up with more on your hands, either drink what's left or use it for the syrup. It's not like we're making macarons here, so a little more coffee won't ruin your whole batch. You'll be all shaky and jittery by the time the cake's out of the oven, but that won't kill you, either.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside in a bowl.

Whisk the egg and sugar until frothy, set aside. Melt the butter (let it cool for a minute or so if you think it's too hot to mix with the eggs) and add it to the egg and sugar mixture. Combine the milk and coffee and add it too. Whisk until combined and then add the dry ingredients, mix until incorporated.

Divide the batter between your containers and bake for about 20 minutes with rack positioned in center of the oven.

Meanwhile you can prepare the syrup, but there's nothing easier. Combine your ingredients and bring them to a boil. You're all done! This pudding is as tasty cold as it is hot, but if you're not planning to eat it while it's hot I suggest to pour the syrup over it just before eating. Also, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar in the syrup according to your taste.

Recipe slightly adapted from Marta.