Double Chocolate Pudding

Need I say more?

The recipe makes enough for 8 people. This was all that was left when I came to photograph it.

My mother loved chocolate pudding. Her fondest memory of growing up was going to her grandmother’s house, where they would have a hamburger, mashed potatoes and then, chocolate pudding for dessert. It remained her favorite meal all her life.

It makes me a wee bit sad to think I’ve only just come across this recipe, and my mother is no longer here to enjoy it. Sorry for the sentimental stuff. Howsabout we just talk about pudding and how you should make it this weekend. My mother would like that.

The recipe is not mine. It’s from the great Richard Sax, a food and recipe writer who left this world too young. (Sheesh, didn’t think this would be The Morose Pudding Substack. I’m sorry!) If you can find a copy of his cookbook Classic Home Desserts (Chapters Publishing, 1994), buy it without hesitation. It is one of the best dessert cookbooks I own. And you guess correctly: I do own a lot of cookbooks.)

I chat too much. Recipe is below. And below that, notes on the recipe and a question for all of you.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Recipe from Richard Sax, Classic Home Desserts, 1994. (I amended some of the cooking instructions.)

What You’ll Need

2 1/4 cups milk or 18 U.S. fluid ounces (I used whole milk, 2 percent is okay, too)

1/2 cup or 4 ounces sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

5 ounces best-quality semisweet (or dark) chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons or 1 ounce unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(While you’re out shopping, be sure you pick up some heavy cream for whipping. Chocolate pudding deserves whipped cream topping.)

What You’ll Do:

1. Place 2 cups of the milk, only 1/4 cup of the sugar and the salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring constantly. After it reaches the boil, remove from the heat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the unsweetened cocoa powder and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until blended. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and whisk until smooth. Whisk this mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer, whisking constantly, until the pudding is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when you can pull your finger across the back of the spoon and the pudding will remain separated. See photo below.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the whole egg with the egg yolks. Add about a cup of the hot cocoa mixture to the egg mixture slowly: To prevent the mixture from curdling, initially add the hot cocoa mixture to the eggs, teaspoon by teaspoon, whisking as you go. Whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan of pudding Cook the pudding over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until it just comes to a boil, about 2 minutes.

4. Strain the pudding into a medium heatproof bowl. Add the chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla and whisk until the chocolate and butter are melted and incorporated and the pudding is smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (MRB Note: I don’t like a skin on my pudding, so I put the plastic wrap directly on the pudding.). Refrigerate until chilled. Serve with whipped cream.

   No surprise here: It tastes better the next day. Good luck waiting.

   

   Notes on the making of this:

   1. Making pudding takes less time than you think, but it does take patience. Stirring time can be a relaxing, almost-meditative time.

   2. All the guidance to bring things to a boil and stir frequently are important to follow. For example, when you add the corn starch mixture to the milk you must bring it to a boil, and then simmer it for two minutes (large bloopy bubbles will come to the surface slowly when it simmers). This is to activate the corn starch, which is the magic that helps to thicken the pudding.

   3. This is definitely a recipe to read in advance, just like recipe writers are always telling you to do. You’ll see that the ingredient list will call for certain amounts of milk and sugar…but you WILL NOT use the entire quantity all in at once.

   4. Good cocoa and good chocolate matters. But you knew that.

Please enjoy!

Now: What is your most memorable meal from childhood? 

Thank you for reading and please subscribe!