The Pudding Stop: Innovative additions to a classic pudding

By Fathima Riznaz Hafi

A Sri Lankan classic, the chocolate biscuit pudding has been around for a while; some have mastered the art of creating it – some are still trying. I met someone who has not only mastered it but has come up with her own creative versions, initially playing around with the recipe and now producing signature chocolate biscuit puddings with mouth-watering toppings.

“I started off with the standard chocolate biscuit pudding with cashew nuts and cream and then experimented with new toppings. There are things that people like – general favourites like Nutella, Kit Kat, etc. – I experimented with those to see how I could infuse such flavours into chocolate biscuit pudding. My daughter Minoli is a tremendous support and comes up with ideas for these flavours and toppings and I try them out and when they go well, I keep them,” said ‘The Pudding Stop’ Founder Dilrukshi Senanayake. She presently offers a total of eight different varieties of the chocolate biscuit pudding, with two in the premium range.

The Pudding Stop was launched in November last year when Dilrukshi decided she wanted to try something new after working in the corporate world for over 20 years. “When we were looking for something to start, we did some research and found that none of the caterers are doing just chocolate biscuit pudding only – it’s always cakes, cupcakes or a variety of puddings. I saw this as a niche that I could focus on and specialise in and it took off really well,” she said.

“I make it all myself – I don’t like to give workers to do this,” she stressed. When I do it myself, I know what I do – the soaking, applying of cream properly, correct amount, etc. – if I give this work to an outsider, I don’t know if they’ll do a proper job. I’m very particular about it.” 

After my chat with this really sweet lady, the time came to taste the gorgeous varieties…

The Classic 

The classic cocoa Chocolate Biscuit Pudding with the usual layers of chocolate cream and biscuits, along with double layers of cashew nuts, tasted how it should. Having become quite the expert after doing this for many years, the pudding was made to perfection, with presentation and taste intact. 

Chocolate Chipper 

This Chocolate Biscuit Pudding with double layers of white and dark chocolate chips was fascinating – in terms of look as well as taste. The presentation was drool-worthy with dark chocolate chips and white chocolate chips laid out diagonally and ever-so-neatly in alternate rows and the taste most certainly did not disappoint! There was such a generous portion of chocolate chips and therefore the crunch was there all the way!

Minty  

This was awesome with mild notes of mint infused into the chocolate cream with double layers of chocolate chips. On my first bite I was hit by the fresh taste of mint and for a moment it felt like I was eating an ‘After Eight’ mint chocolate and as I proceeded I also got the crunch of yummy dark chocolate chips which were strewn along the border. 

One wouldn’t expect to come across a mint flavour when having chocolate biscuit pudding and this is a first for me but the job here is to entice with flavours we love and some of us, yours truly included, go bonkers over the taste of mint – so this pudding certainly does the job. 

This minty taste lingered on a while after I ate it, lifting my mood and holding it there for a while. 

Choco Raisin 

The older generation would be the ones to get excited over this Chocolate Biscuit Pudding with double layers of cashew nuts and raisins. Dilrukshi notes that the younger generation doesn’t seem to have a liking for raisins and shared the story of how she was surprised when a young man came in one day to collect two packs of chocolate biscuit pudding, one being the Choco Raisin, and when she asked him about this, he promptly replied, “No, no, that one’s for my mum!”

Kit Kat Whopper 

What I noted with amusement was that Kit Kat was the first taste of the combination of chocolate and wafer biscuit that most of us were introduced to as children and now it is used here with yet another chocolate-biscuit combination. This Chocolate Biscuit Pudding with double layers of crushed Kit Kat chocolate would appeal to Kit Kat lovers for whom the idea of one favourite chocolate biscuit combination on top of another would be just too much to fight off. The Kit Kat Whopper is in their bestseller list.

Nutella Crunch 

I was in pure Nutella bliss with this one. Also in the bestseller list, the Chocolate Biscuit Pudding was infused with five layers of Nutella and five layers of cream and a layer of cashew nuts inside. On top we have another layer of cashew nuts as well as dark chocolate chips. The pudding was moist, silky and full of the chocolatey goodness of my beloved all-time favourite – Nutella! The crunch from the cashews and chocolate chips added to the bliss. 

Ruby Red 

This beauty, which falls in their premium range, was just as delightful to look at as it was to eat. Layers of chocolate buttercream, double layers of dark chocolate shavings, topped with fresh strawberries gave out a teasing mix of the sour taste of strawberries with the sweetness of the pudding. 

In all her other recipes, the new flavours she comes up with are included in the centre as well as the top but she doesn’t carry this out with the Ruby Red as the sour taste of the strawberry would create an undesirable taste when infused with the flavour of the pudding; therefore in this case strawberries are used as delicious toppings only, accompanied by chocolate scrapings.

Dark Fantasy 

Also falling in the premium range, this consists of layers of decadent dark chocolate ganache and is topped with shavings of dark chocolate. It would appeal to those who prefer less sweetness in their pudding. It was delightfully tasty without being overly sweet. My thumbs up for this one too!

Conclusion

The base recipe is the same for all her puddings and at a glance it may seem like only the toppings differ but her little experiments consist of more than that – the new flavours are not only presented on top but also laid out in the centre, so it’s not really just the topping that’s different – it’s the infusion of flavours inside as well. 

When making your pick, my suggestion would therefore be to choose the pudding based on the topping or flavour that you prefer – go for the topping that catches your eye! That’s not really as easy as it sounds because her mouth-watering range leaves one spoilt for choice.

I have no doubts The Pudding Stop will go far with its innovative creations and wished Dilrukshi success in her endeavour as she sent us off with hugs and kisses. 

The Pudding Stop operates daily and customers are advised to make their reservations of the standard offering an hour prior to collection by calling or texting while a day’s notice is required for special orders and the premium range. The collection point for orders is Joseph Lane, Colombo 4, and delivery within Colombo city limits can be provided for a fee.

Pix by Gitika Talukdar