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Best Ever Chocolate Pudding

Source of Recipe

From "Flour" by Joanne Chang


Recipe Introduction

"I grew up thinking pudding came out of a box. Buy the little box at the grocery store, mix it with cold milk at home, and within minutes you have pudding. I didn’t even know you could make pudding from scratch until I was well into my culinary career. Lucky for me (and you), I learned to make pudding, specifically chocolate pudding, from my first pastry chef mentor, Rick Katz. Rick is a purist and doesn’t like to use any superfluous ingredients or extraneous flavorings. In that vein, he taught me to forgo the traditional thickener for pudding, cornstarch, and simply increase the amount of chocolate to a level that the chocolate itself thickens the pudding—and, man, you can tell. This is like eating smooth, silky, thick fudge. There’s a touch of vanilla to round out the flavor and a big pinch of salt to heighten the experience. It makes a fantastic dessert as is, or it is the main component in the best chocolate cream pie you’ll ever eat."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 ½ cups half-and-half
â—¦ 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
â—¦ 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 to 77 percent cacao), chopped
â—¦ 7 egg yolks
â—¦ ¾ cup vanilla sugar
â—¦ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ Unsweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for serving (optional)


Recipe

In a medium saucepan, combine the half-and-half and heavy cream and scald over medium-high heat (bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, but the liquid is not boiling). Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Place over (not touching) barely simmering water in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. Pour the hot cream mixture over the melted chocolate and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl, and slowly whisk in the vanilla sugar. Slowly pour the hot cream-chocolate mixture into the egg-sugar mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly. When all of the cream-chocolate mixture has been incorporated, return the contents of the bowl to the saucepan, and return the saucepan to medium-low heat. Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan often to prevent scorching, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon thickly.

To test, draw your finger along the back of the spoon; the custard should hold the trail for a couple of seconds before it fills. (First the mixture will be liquid and loose, and then it will start to get a little thicker at the bottom of the pan. As it continues to thicken, it will start to let off a little steam. When you see wisps of steam steadily rising from the pan, you will know the pudding is almost done.)

When the pudding is ready, immediately strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until cold. The pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Just before serving, stir up the pudding to smooth it out. Spoon into dessert bowls and garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings (if using).

Makes 4 ½ cups (serves 4 to 6)



• To make vanilla sugar:
Place vanilla bean pod in an airtight container with about 4 cups sugar for 1 week, and the sugar will pick up the aroma of the vanilla.