Chocolate has that magical property of being loved by almost everyone. Some say it's because of the way it melts at our body temperature, with a soft, smooth sensation combined with delicious sweet tastes. Some have more technical explanations, suggesting it's to do with the release of hormones like serotonin in our bodies. Whatever, our family, like most, confess to being chocoholics. And they are not making much progress towards addressing their addiction problem! One of the popular chocolate recipes in our home is a classic that has been in the family recipe collection for many years. It's a chocolate fudge pudding.

Apart from the great chocolate taste, it also has the merit, from a cooking perspective, of being a very easy chocolate dessert to make. It also looks great. It has a rich chocolate sauce that settles in the bottom of your cooking dish. You can turn it out upside-down for table presentation as a self-saucing pudding, or just spoon the sauce over each serving. It's best served hot with fresh or whipped cream, or with ice cream. A few berries or cherries, or some chocolate curls, add to the presentation. Our whole family enjoys it. Even the diet conscious and sporty members insist on joining in, "Just with a smaller serving please." But it is especially a winner the younger ones, and a top birthday party request. Decadent! This recipe serves 4, and takes about 1 hour. The ingredients are:

• 75g or 3oz self-raising flour
• 2 level tablespoons cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• half a teaspoon vanilla essence
• 100g or 4oz butter or margarine
• 100g or 4oz castor sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk

And for the chocolate sauce:

• 100g or 4oz soft brown sugar
• 2 level tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3dl or half a pint of hot water

For the main dessert, sift or whisk the flour, cocoa powder and salt together in a bowl, and set them aside until needed. Cream the butter or margarine and sugar in another bowl, until the mix is light and fluffy. Lightly mix the eggs and vanilla essence together, then gradually beat them into the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Gradually fold in the flour mixture, then add in the walnuts, and just enough of the milk to get a smooth medium-to-soft consistency. Butter a 1 to 1 and a quarter liter, or 2 to 2 and a half pint, pie or baking dish, and spread the mixture evenly into it. Set it aside while you prepare the chocolate sauce.

To do this, combine the brown sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. Add the hot water and stir the mix well into a liquid. Pour this sauce over the main mixture in its cooking dish. It will sit on top at the start, but when the pudding is cooked it will settle underneath. Cook your chocolate fudge pudding in the center of a moderately hot oven (190 degrees C, 395 degrees F or Gas No.5) for 40 minutes. Enjoy!