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So you want chocolate pudding, and you want to be liberated from the boxes and plastic tubs. You want to make it right. You have made a wise decision my friend. While prepackaged pudding and pudding mixes can be delicious, nothing compares to fresh homemade pudding. Also, I have good news for you! It’s so quick and easy to make it from scratch, you’ll wonder why you never tried it before (that is, of course, IF you have never tried it before).

This recipe makes a thick, smooth, and delightfully creamy chocolate pudding that can be eaten warm right out of the pot, chilled, as a pie filling for chocolate pudding pie, or in any recipe that calls for chocolate pudding.

The following recipe took me about 10 minutes to make, including the time it took to take all the pictures of the ingredients, so trust me when I say it’s FAST! This recipe makes a little over 2 cups of pudding which can be portioned in any way you choose, and it’s just enough to fill an approximately 8×8 inch pie crust.

-Ingredients-

½ cup Cocoa Powder

The quality of the cocoa powder will have a great affect on the resulting pudding. A high quality cocoa with a complex flavour profile will result in a chocolate pudding with a high quality and complex flavour profile. Still, this does not mean that the basic store brand cocoa powder you’ll find on the grocer’s shelf will not result in a fantastic pudding. While I do like to dabble in fancy chocolates, on this day I am just using your run of the mill store bought cocoa. (btw the resulting pudding was LOVELY!) The important thing is to use a cocoa with a taste you find pleasing. If you do want to try a fancier cocoa, some of my favourites are Callebaut or Ghirardelli. But the world of cocoas is like the world of wine, and there is a whole universe of flavours to explore. In the end it comes down to personal taste.

½ cup Sugar (white or brown)

I have, since originally preparing this recipe post, tried it with an equal amount of packed brown sugar. Either sugar will give you a wonderful pudding, but there is a little barely detectable bit of extra richness that brown sugar imparts. So use either, but in my opinion, brown sugar makes this just a little more sexy.

2 tablespoons Corn Starch

I understand that in Europe it is known as “corn flour”. Corn flour in the Americas is an entirely different concept though so don’t mistake the two! (Hint: American corn flour is yellow)

1 pinch Salt

Yup, a pinch. Just squeeze as much as you can between the tip of your thumb and index finger. No need to be super accurate. If you really want a measurement then just call it an eighth of a teaspoon. This ingredient is optional, but recommended. Salt enhances sweet dishes by activating taste buds that sugar alone doesn’t activate quite as much. But if you don’t add salt, it is not a tragedy. Also you can use table salt or sea salt. I almost always use sea salt.

2 cups Milk

Anything on the spectrum from skimmed milk to whole will work just fine. Today I am using 2%.

1 Egg

You can use one large, one extra large, about two small, one or two medium, any of these amounts will do. No need for super accuracy again.

¼ cup Chocolate Chips

Just like with the cocoa, you can use simple brand chocolates like Hershey’s or Nestle or you can opt for something fancier. Again it’s all about personal preference. Also, you have a decision to go with a semi sweet chocolate or a bittersweet. This depends on the intensity of chocolate flavour you are after (bittersweet being more intense). In my recipe today I simply used Nestle semi sweet chocolate chips. My top choice, however, would be Ghirardelli 72% bittersweet chocolate. This is my absolute favourite chocolate in the world. It is just my personal taste though. Still, I HIGHLY recommend you try it at some point. This ingredient is optional. The pudding will be just fine without it, but the extra chocolate obviously adds just a little more chocolately kick to the pudding. I usually add it, but I have skipped it before and the pudding was still yummy. Also, I usually don’t really measure this ingredient and instead just toss in a large handful. Bit more, bit less, it isn’t crucial. ¼ cup is a good rule of thumb but by all means feel free to be naughty and add a bit more.

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Real vanilla extract is best. Some people don’t notice a difference between imitation and the real stuff, some do. Personal preference again, but my recommendation is to use the real stuff. Also, this is another optional but recommended ingredient. Vanilla extract is often used alongside chocolate for good reason. It complements the chocolate and adds a punch of flavour as well as a pleasant aftertaste.

-Method-

In a medium to large sized pot combine 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder, 1/2 cup Sugar, 2 tablespoons Corn Starch and 1 pinch Salt .

Mix dry ingredients together.

Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk well. Set aside for now.

Turn the burner onto medium heat and place the pot with the dry ingredients onto the heat. Immediately pour in the 2 cups of Milk while whisking it into the dry ingredients. At first you will notice that the cocoa mixture floats on top of the milk and seems like it will not incorporate into the milk. don’t worry just whisk swiftly for about 30 to 60 seconds and…

you will start to notice that the dry powder is starting to give way to a wet foam. Keep whisking swiftly (you don’t have to go crazy. Your arm should not be getting tired.) You just want to keep it moving. As you whisk, constantly scrape the entire bottom of that pot as well as the sides. Continue for… oh… depending on exactly how hot your burner is the time will vary, but about another minute or two, just until the mixture is slightly warm.

Once the mixture is a bit warmer than tepid whisk in the egg. At this point the mixture is still very liquid and the foam that floats on top of the mixture is getting thinner. Whisk the egg in quickly and keep the mixture moving, still scraping all along the bottom and sides of the pot.

Very quickly you will notice most of the foam has disappeared. The mixture is still very liquid but this is when you know its about to start thickening. The heat will be starting to rise now so its very important you keep it moving and monitor the bottom of the pot for any “stickiness” if you detect any spots where the pudding is sticking to the bottom, don’t fret because it will take far more neglect to burn it and ruin it. Just turn the heat down to medium low and keep on whisking, lightly but swiftly.

Not many seconds later you will see it start to thicken. Its getting pretty hot and will start boiling in a minute or so. The cornstarch is being activated by the heat and the egg is slowly cooking, aiding in the thickening. Keep it moving, but every 20 seconds or so stop whisking for a few seconds to see if any bubbles burp through.

When you start seeing some nice large bubbles popping along the surface It is almost done cooking. Once you see the first bubble coming through give it about another 20 to 40 seconds to cook while whisking and scraping. At this point the egg is fully cooked and the pudding is thick.

MMMMM.. So thick.

Take the pot off of the heat, add the 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips and stir until melted and combined.

Add 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract and stir until well incorporated.

The pudding will begin to set quickly so immediately pour into serving cups/ramekins/pie crust/ or whatever serving medium you are using.

Eat it warm right away or chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two (depending on the size of the servings). If you do not want a skin to form on top of your pudding, quickly place plastic wrap on top of it before you refrigerate it. I happen to like the skin so I do not cover it.

Enjoy your chocolate pudding!

–Printable version–