Black treacle and chocolate porter pudding with porter custard

To begin, reduce the chocolate porter - this will later be used for the custard. Add the beer to a pan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Set aside until needed

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3.5

To make the sponge, sieve the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a mixing bowl. Add the eggs to a separate bowl, then whisk in the beer, oil, treacle, and finally the sugar. Whisk together then whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until smooth

Thoroughly grease 8 individual dariole moulds and place a circle of parchment paper in the base of each one - this will make removing the sponges from the moulds easier later

Fill each mould halfway with the sponge mix and bake for 15 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the moulds

Once cool, slice in half lengthways with a sharp knife and brush a little beer over the puddings to keep them moist

To make the custard, add the reserved reduced porter and double cream to a pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl until pale and smooth

Gradually pour the boiling cream and beer mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously until smooth. Return the custard to the pan and heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture reaches 80°C. If you don't have a thermometer, drag your finger across the back of the spatula, it is ready if the custard will be thick enough to stay in place. Do not overheat, or the custard will scramble

Pass through a fine sieve and spoon some of the custard onto each plate. Arrange the sponge halves over the custard, add four Griottine cherries to each plate, topping each one with micro cress. Serve with a little more custard on the side