Chocolate Pudding

From the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis

Serves

Introduction

This recipe was truly fun to develop. It had been a long time since any of us had made chocolate pudding. After years of making complicated desserts, it was delightful to taste something that was rich and creamy, yet simple to make. This would make a wonderful dessert for a dinner party or for just your family.

Ingredients

	4	oz. semisweet baking chocolate, chopped into small pieces
	¼	cup granulated sugar
	1	cup milk
	1¼	cups whipping cream
	⅛	tsp. salt
	2	Tbsp. cornstarch
	1	tsp. pure vanilla extract

Steps

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine chocolate, sugar, milk, 1 cup of the whipping cream, and salt. Stir, using a whisk, and cook over medium heat until the chocolate is melted and sugar dissolved, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, but leave heat on.
Combine cornstarch, the remaining ¼ cup whipping cream, and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Blend, using a spoon, until completely smooth. Slowly pour this mixture into the chocolate mixture, blend well, and return to the heat. Stir frequently until thickened and mixture heavily coats a spoon, about 3 minutes. (An instant-read thermometer should register 160°F. when done.) The pudding will thicken considerably once cold. Remove from heat and divide among 6 individual custard cups. Or spoon entire mixture into a single serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Notes

For those with a microwave, this recipe is a breeze to make. Combine everything except the cornstarch mixture in a 4-cup glass measure and cook on high power for 4 minutes. Stir well, cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Combine the cornstarch mixture as directed above, add to the chocolate mixture and cook on high power 1 minute. Stir well, cook 1 to 2 minutes more on high power, until mixture is thickened. Proceed with directions above.
Substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons of Grand Marnier liqueur for the vanilla in the recipe.
This recipe can be made a day ahead.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis.