Sometimes I just need the comfort of pudding to make things right in my world. There is something about the smooth texture, slight chill and sweet chocolate goodness that can ease anything from extracted wisdom teeth to a broken heart. It can even ease the pain of a crazy concoction your Mom may have tried to pass off as dinner.
I would say that this pudding is also comforting because it’s the way Mom used to make… but my Mom never actually made pudding. It’s fine really, no hard feelings! I have oodles of love for my Mom. Hot dog casserole was more her kitchen niche. And even that sometimes turned out purple. I think the purple had something to do with cabbage, which is totally bad news. As if hot dog casserole isn’t bad enough news. Oh Mom. She’ll never live down that tragic dinner.
Now, back to the chocolate!
This pudding is a breeze to make! I toasted some marshmallow on top of mine before I dug in to eat. The oh so slight crunch of the toasted marshmallow was perfect on top of the smooth chocolate. So yummy!
Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding
Gourmet Cookbook
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
4 ounces good semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil, whisking, until pudding is thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Immediately beat eggs lightly in a medium heat proof bowl, then very gradually add hot pudding to the egg, whisking constantly. Whisk in chopped chocolate until smooth.
Pour pudding into ramekins or custard cups and cover surface each with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate, covered, until cool, at least 2 hours.
Serve pudding with toasted marshmallows or whipped cream!
Theresa Boyle
Oh my chocolate heavenly goodness!!! This recipe is exceptionally good and so much better than the boxed stuff. I always double the recipe! After making the recipe a few times, I got daring and decided to try different ingredients. I used a combo of semi sweet and bittersweet, added a sprinkling of espresso powder and used 1/2 and 1/2. VERY rich and chocolately — was good for my hubby and I but our son said it was “too chocolately” (is that even possible? lol). The next time I used all semi sweet and 1/2 and 1/2. Again, VERY good. Not as rich as the other ingredients but equally as good. I did find with the original recipe had bits of “stuff” in the pudding which I figured was some of the chocolate that didn’t melt and maybe some egg membrane. I now strain the pudding which captures all that stuff and leaves behind a silky, glorious mixture of chocolately goodness. :-)
Zoi
This looks yummmy…gona try it soon :)
Kelly
I’ve made lots of pudding recipes for the kids and they all taste good; this one was awesome – they licked the bowl and then asked for more. Thanks!
Moi
A question….. I hope I get an answer from you soon.
Only recently have I started my obsession with chocolate pudding. The thing I seem to struggle the most with is cooking the cornstarch, sugar, and cocoa in a saucepan before adding the wet ingredients. WHY is this? What I usually do is just blend it all up, heat it, then put it in the fridge. What do you think?
mari
I’m a fan of homemade pudding, having just made it for the first time this year! I like that your recipe calls for non-Dutch process cocoa, as I have a very nice can of Scharffen-Berger in my pantry!
Shari
You’ve been given an “Excellent Blog Award”. See Whisk: a food blog for more information. Congratulations!
Mike
I haven’t had pudding in years and have never made it myself, but I always loved it and now I wonder how I’d forgotten about it for so long. Chocolate is definitely the best of flavors and this looks awesome–the toasted marshmallows also sound like the perfect garnish to pair with such a comforting dessert.
Also, rofl at the purple hotdog casserole story!
Gigi
I never thought of putting marshmallow on my pudding. So glad you came along to show the marshmallow pudding way! :) Yummy!
Kevin
That chocolate pudding looks good. I like the idea of toasting marshmallow on top!