Chocolate Pudding Family Style #recipe @LucyBurdette

I know, it looks like a rooster:)

LUCY BURDETTE: I've been thinking about a recipe that I clipped out of a local paper six months ago for homemade butterscotch pudding . With my sister visiting, a special dessert that wasn't too fussy seemed in order. However, the 6 tablespoons of butter and three eggs in the recipe dampened my enthusiasm. 

So I went on a search for other puddings, and ended up using one adapted from the Joy of Cooking. And it's chocolate, because I rediscovered my King Arthur cocoa powder! 



First note before you start out, the pudding has to be refrigerated for two hours or up to two days. Although as John and I can attest, warm pudding is delicious too!

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup +1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup warm water
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons cornstarch
One and a half teaspoons vanilla
Whipped cream if you like it (what else was I going to do with that left over cup of whipping cream?)

Mix the sugar cocoa and salt in a heavy sauce pan. Stir until combined. Gradually stir in the water until a smooth paste is formed. Meanwhile, mix the whipping cream and whole milk, and set aside 1/4 cup. In a small bowl, mix this 1/4 cup milk with the cornstarch, adding it gradually so the mixture is smooth.

Meanwhile, back to the chocolate. Over medium heat, heat the chocolate paste until smooth and beginning to bubble. Remove the pan from the heat.Gradually stir in the cream/milk mixture.

Stir your prepared corn starch into the chocolate mixture and again cook until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for another minute. Make sure you continue stirring through all these steps.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the pudding into four small bowls or one larger. Cover the surfaces with waxed paper to avoid the formation of a Dreaded Skin.

Refrigerate for two hours, up to two days, and serve with whipped cream if you like, and maybe a strawberry. OMG, was this good!



Lucy writes the Key West food critic mysteries. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!