A traditional Christmas dessert gets a chocolate makeover! As in Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol, "We wish you a merry Christmas...now bring us some figgy pudding!"

Chocolate Fig Pudding

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup dried figs, diced
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). In a large electric mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add cocoa powder and mix until light and fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together chocolate chunks, flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk to the chocolate mixture; mix well. Fold in figs.
3. Pour batter into six well-buttered individual molds or one well-buttered 1 1/2-quart pudding mold. Place pudding(s) on center rack of oven, with a roasting pan of boiling water on the rack below.
4. Bake 35 minutes for individual molds or 1 hour for large mold, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out nearly clean.
5. Cool 10 minutes; unmold.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.