At 4pm I opened the closet. I opened the fridge. No chocolate anywhere. Nothing that would satisfy a sweet tooth except for some random chocolate chips in my baking cupboard. I needed some dessert tonight. I didn't have time to go to the store, but I did have some basic ingredients in the house that I could whip something up with. Alas, chocolate pudding comes into the mix! This was super easy, super unhealthy, and ready after chilling in the refrigerator for at least four hours. I had a tiny helper in the kitchen pouring the ingredients into the bowl for me and she was very excited for the final result. She didn't get to taste it because it wasn't ready until after her bedtime, but Jon and I dove into the sweet richness of this chocolate goodness! One substitution I made was that I used cacao powder instead of cocoa powder since that's all I had on hand. And the recipe says it makes six servings, but it's more like two and a half servings. Yum!
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup natural cocoa powder
4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 whipping cream (optional)
Directions:
1) Put 1.5 cups of milk, sugar, and cocoa into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Remove from heat.
2) Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1.2 cup milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla in a bowl. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture in.
3) Return to saucepan and cook over medium high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 2-3 minutes, continuing to whisk until thick.
4) Pour the pudding into 6 small cups (or 2 medium ones). Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or better overnight until set. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
