ajoyouskitchen

Decadent Chocolate Pudding

I have almost shared a chocolate pudding with y’all before but it wasn’t quite right yet. I love pudding, but what I really wanted was one that had a deep, rich chocolate flavor, something more than what you get from the boxed mix. I’ve finally cracked the code and cannot stop eating this one!

The flavor of this pudding is amazing, but almost as amazing is how easy it is and how little clean up is involved! All you need is a bowl, a pot, a spoon, and a whisk. And actually, the spoon might be optional. If you use a scale there’s no measuring cups to clean so you’re in even better shape! You could be 20 minutes and a few dishes away from an amazing dessert.

There aren’t too many components involved here, but let’s look at what we’ve got:

  • the milk – I used 2% milk for most of my testing, but any animal milk would definitely work. A higher fat percentage would create a thicker, creamier, richer pudding. I haven’t tried it with a nut milk or anything else, but please let me know if you do!
  • the chocolate – using dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder is what gives this pudding it’s rich, decadent chocolate flavor. you could use milk chocolate if you wanted, or even white chocolate if that’s your jam.
  • the thickener – I used a combination of egg yolks as well as cornstarch to thicken this pudding. I really like using egg yolks because of the texture they bring, but if you wanted to leave them out and double the amount of cornstarch you can!
  • variations – I served my pudding as a bit of a layered dessert situation, using some leftover cookie crumbles and chocolate chips to bring some texture to the party. You could get creative with those crumbles, or you can stir in some cinnamon and chili powder to get a Mexican chocolate pudding which is also so good!

That’s it! It’s so simple and the payoff is huge. The one odd thing is that once you stir in the chocolate, you’re going to see little bits of chocolate that seem like they’ll never fully melt and that you have a mess on your hands. Don’t worry! Keep going and it’ll all come together, just have some faith.

Decadent Chocolate Pudding
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 Tbsp (16 g) cornstarch
  • 2 cups (454 g) milk, divided
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup (85 g) chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp (14 g) butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • cookie crumbles, for serving, optional
  • additional chocolate chips, for serving, optional

for a mexican chocolate variation

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder, or to taste

How to do it

  1. prep the egg mixture: in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until slightly paler in color. add the cornstarch and 1/4 cup (57 g) of milk and whisk to combine. set aside
  2. scald the milk: in a medium pot, heat the remaining milk (397 g), sugar, and salt over medium high heat until there are small bubbles around the edges and the mixture is between 180*-190*. stir this mixure frequently to ensure the bottom doesn’t burn
  3. temper the eggs: once the milk mixture is bubbling, remove from heat and very slowly stream the milk mixture into the egg mixture. at first, you should do just a few drops at a time. as the temperature of the egg mixture increases you can add more of the milk mixture. the goal here is to slowly increase the temperature of the egg mixture so that the eggs don’t scramble, so be sure to take your time!
  4. add the chocolate: return the egg and milk mixture to the pan along with the chocolate chips. heat over medium high heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens to a pudding consistency. It will seem like it won’t all come together and the chocolate won’t fully incorporate but it will, just keep going!
  5. finish: remove from the heat and add the vanilla, butter, and optional spices. mix and store with plastic wrap up against the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming
  6. serve and enjoy: for serving, top with cookie crumbles and/or chocolate chips if using, or just grab a spoon!

4 comments

Leave a Reply