Real Chocolate Pudding

Did you grow up thinking pudding was something made from a box of powder found next to Jell-O in the grocery store, or maybe a single serving container from Kraft? I did too, but recently I got brave enough to try pudding from scratch, adapting a recipe that my mom uses to make Chocolate Cream Pie.

Now, I think of pudding as:

Part hot chocolate – ice cream – pie – breakfast – lunch – dinner – midnight snack…

Really, whatever you need it to be, whenever the craving hits!

Even better, pudding is super simple to make. Here’s how:

In a large thick-bottomed pan, combine the following:

• 4 T cocoa (We recommend Wilbur Dutch Process cocoa or your favorite organic variety)
• 1/4 cup sugar (Costco sells a nice organic sugar. I’ve tried honey, but the honey overpowers the pudding, so I think the sugar tastes better in this instance.)
• 2/3 c flour (All-purpose works well in this case. Arrowroot or tapioca can be substituted at a higher amount or half of each, but the consistency is softer and gellier than when made from flour). If you want this to be pie filling, just add a bit more flour and cook to a thicker stage.
• 1 tsp. salt (Sea salt works well)

Stir together until well blended.

Add 5 cups of milk (We use fresh, raw, whole milk. Store bought can be substituted, but you may need to increase the thickener amount or add 4 cups milk & 1 cup cream.) The chocolate will look lumpy, but that goes away as the milk warms, allowing the milk and chocolate to bond. 

Heat on medium, stirring bottom of pan occasionally until the mixture starts to thicken. Continue – now stirring constantly – until thickened to desired consistency (15-30 minutes). Remove from heat.

Separate yolk and white from 6 eggs (save whites for another use – angel food cake or macaroons, perhaps?). 

Place the 6 egg yolks in a bowl and use a ladle to slowly pour the heated milk mixture over the eggs while whisking the eggs rapidly. Add more ladles of hot mixture – slowly – until the egg mixture is heated.

Return the egg mixture to the milk mixture and place back on the stove. Stir or whisk for 2 minutes, then stir in 1 Tbsp. butter. Optional: Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla or 1/4 tsp. vanilla bean along with the butter.

If you think some of the egg may have curdled, try running the hot mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any solid egg bits.

How to Serve:

Pudding can be justifiably eaten at any point of the day. This is a healthy recipe, so don’t be shy, eat plenty!

I best enjoy chocolate pudding when eaten fresh and warm. If turning into a pie, fill a pie shell with the warm mixture and cool, covered, in the fridge.

You may cool the pudding, if you have the patience, by placing the mixture into a glass bowl with a lid and refrigerating at least a few hours. Once cooled, either eat as-is or whip one cup of cream and fold into the pudding for a light mousse. Or put whip cream on top of the pudding.

If you need more chocolate in your life, I recommend pouring the chocolate pudding over a slice of Farmette’s Chocolate Buttermilk Pie!