CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY PUDDING CAKES

This dessert is soooo good!  It comes courtesy of one of my favorite blogs www.fatfreevegan.com.  I was looking for something new to try for an upcoming dinner party.  I don't like to make new recipes to serve to company unless I try it before hand, and besides its a good excuse to make something sweet.  I made the recipe as follows and used 4 ramekins and it was perfect for 4 servings.  However, next time I will double the ingredients and try it in a cake pan.  We ate it warm with non-dairy vanilla ice cream, and it was so good that way that the next night we put the leftover ramekins in the microwave to reheat them a bit. Note:  the cherries are frozen to start with, then you have to let them thaw with the sugar for 1-2 hours to extract the juice.  So make sure to allow this time before baking.

Don't be scared by all the ingredients.  Assemble everything first and it honestly goes together very quickly. 

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY PUDDING CAKES

-20 frozen pitted cherries
-1 tsp sugar
-1/3 cup of brown sugar
-2 TB of unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 tsp of cornstarch
-1/2 cup flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/3 cup of sugar
-1 1/2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 1/2 TB of soy yogurt
-1/4 cup soy milk (or other non dairy milk)
-boiling water

1. cut cherries in half while frozen and put them into a small bowl along with the sugar.  Allow them to thaw for 1-2 hours.
2. oil or spray 4 ramekins.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix together in a small bowl the brown sugar and 2 TB of cocoa.
3. Pour the cherry juice (from the thawed cherries) into a measuring cup and lightly press the cherries to get as much juice as you can. Put to the side
4. Sprinkle the cornstarch onto the thawed cherries and mix well to coat the cherries. Divide the cherries into the prepared ramekins.
5. In a medium bowl mix the flour, salt, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 TB of cocoa and baking powder.  Stir in the vanilla, yogurt, and soy milk.  Mixture will be thick.  Divide this mixture evenly into the ramekins and spread with a spoon to cover the the cherries.
6. sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the batter and level nicely
7. Add some boiling water to the cherry juice till you reach 3/4 cup.  Pour gently over the brown sugar in the ramekins...about 3 TL per ramekin.
8. bake for about 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling around the edges, and the tops look mostly dry (but there will still be streaks of wet looking areas...don't overcook).

Let cool for 10-15 minutes and dive in.  You can thank me later!