What other dessert brings out the kid in us more than chocolate pudding? If you want a pudding that is slightly more grown-up, substitute bittersweet chocolate for the semisweet. The taste of the chocolate is heightened with the addition of vanilla extract. Use only pure vanilla extract, not imitation. To make your own vanilla extract, halve six vanilla beans lengthwise to reveal their seeds. Steep the beans in four cups of best-quality vodka in a dark place at room temperature for one month. After steeping, you’ll have a flavorful extract.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt. Combine the heavy cream with milk and vanilla extract in a large measuring cup. Whisk the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients in the saucepan until smooth.
Step 2
Place the saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the chocolate and cook, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 3
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the butter until melted. Divide the mixture equally among 4 to 6 serving dishes such as dessert coupes or ramekins. To prevent a skin from forming, place plastic wrap directly on the surface of each pudding. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 1 hour.
Step 4
When chilled completely, serve topped with a spoonful of whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder. Serve immediately.
chocolate
Step 5
Chocolate comes from the tropical cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, cultivated around the equator in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, and in the South Pacific islands of Samoa and New Guinea. To make chocolate, cacao beans are fermented, dried, and then cleaned. Next, processors roast and shell the cocoa beans, leaving only the centers, called nibs. These nibs are then pulverized or ground into a smooth liquid called chocolate liquor. Most fine chocolates, such as Valrhona, Callebaut, and Michel Cluizel are labeled with a percentage, which refers to the amount of chocolate liquor in the chocolate itself. The higher this number, the more intense the chocolate taste. Unsweetened or bitter chocolate contains nearly 100 percent chocolate liquor. Semisweet and bittersweet chocolates have added sugar, so their cocoa percentages are a little lower.
