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Growing up, chocolate pudding came from one place: a packet. But the bland packets were never really satisfying, and up until recently I had assumed chocolate pudding just wasn’t all that great. That all changed recently, when I sampled some pudding made from-scratch. I fell in love with the dessert and knew I just had to learn to make my own.

Nailing down just the right chocolate flavor was difficult. Not enough cocoa created a pudding lacking in flavor, while too much chocolate made the texture grainy. To compensate, a mixture of bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder was used. To thicken the recipe, we used cornstarch and a mixture of heavy cream and milk with three egg yolks. Keep reading below for this delicious recipe…

Amazing Chocolate Pudding

(makes 6-7 servings)

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 4oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine.

Directions

  1. Stir together the vanilla and espresso powder in a bowl and set aside. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk in the yolks and cream until fully incorporated, scraping the corners of the saucepan. Whisk in the milk until incorporated.
  2. Place the saucepan on medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened and bubbling (5 to 8 minutes). Cook an additional 30 seconds, then remove from heat and add butter and chocolate. Whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Whisk in the vanilla mixture.
  3. Pour the pudding through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Press a lightly greased sheet of parchment paper against the surface of the pudding and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Whisk pudding briefly before serving.

Recipe adapted fromSmitten Kitchen

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