- 150g/5½oz unsalted butter, cut into 1-2cm/½-¾ cubes, plus extra for greasing
- 185g/6oz self-raising flour
- 15g/½oz cocoa powder
- 20g/¾oz caster sugar
- 125g/4½ suet
- 1 orange
- 150-175ml/5-6fl oz full-fat milk, plus extra for dampening
- 150g/5½oz soft dark brown sugar
- 25g/1oz dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- cream, to serve
- Grease a 1.2 litre/2 pints pudding basin with butter.
- Mix the flour, cocoa, sugar and suet together in a large bowl. Finely grate the zest of the orange and mix this in too. Gradually work in enough milk to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Take a third of the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Invert the basin onto the pastry and cut around it to form a lid. Add the offcuts to the remaining pastry and roll out to a circle, about 30cm/12in in diameter. Use this to line the pudding basin. Make sure there are no cracks in the pastry.
- Put half of the butter, dark brown sugar and chocolate in the lined basin. Pierce the zested orange all over with a skewer and sit it on top. Add the remaining butter, sugar and chocolate.
- Dampen the pastry edges with milk or water and put the pastry lid on top. Press the edges together to seal and trim off the excess.
- Place a piece of baking parchment on a sheet of foil and make a large pleat in the middle, folding both sheets together. Put the parchment and foil on top of the pudding, foil-side up, and secure with string, looping the end of the string over the top of the pudding and tying it to form a handle.
- Place the basin in a large pan, and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the basin. Put a lid on the pan and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and let the pudding steam for 2¼ hours. Top up the boiling water during this time, if necessary, so the pan doesn’t boil dry.
- Carefully remove the basin from the pan, remove the paper and foil and release the sides of the pudding from the basin with a small knife, if necessary. Put a large plate or deep dish on top of the basin and invert it to turn out the pudding.
- Serve at once, cutting into the pudding carefully as the juices flood out (the orange isn’t intended to be eaten). Serve with cold cream.