Clio Goodman's Chocolate Pudding

[Photograph: Ben Fink Photography]
Even people who don't like pudding like chocolate pudding. You may recall the stovetop classic made with powdered mix, but why go that route with a recipe as simple as this? A hefty portion of chocolate and more than a few cups of milk yield smooth, deep, sweetness that serves a crowd.
Excerpted from Puddin' by Clio Goodman (Spiegel & Grau). Copyright (c) 2014. Photographs by Ben Fink Photography. Excerpted by permission of Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
- Yield:serves 8
- Active time: 25 minutes
- Total time:2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 5 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa), finely chopped
Directions
-
1.
In a medium saucepan, vigorously whisk together milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt.
-
2.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until warm, 3-4 minutes.
-
3.
Add chocolate and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until pudding begins to thicken, 14-15 minutes. (Once you can lift the whisk from the pudding and it leaves a faint shadow, it's done. The pudding will seem fairly loose, but it will thicken up further as it chills.)
-
4.
Strain the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing pudding through sieve with a silicone spatula.
-
5.
Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding, and chill until completely cold, 2 hours.