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Tuesday 11 December 2007

SHF#38: Fool-proof Chocolate Pudding

It might not come as a great surprise when I say that I haven't been posting much lately - or cooking for that matter (the "quick, I'm hungry" kind of cooking doesn't count here). However, I didn't want to miss out on this month's Sugar High Friday hosted by Zorra of 1x umruehren. Alas, due to work commitments, there was no way I could possibly make the sticky date pudding that I had already started dreaming of... It's one of the real Aussie desserts and to be found on many a restaurant menu in Sydney. I've had it only once so far and since then, always wanted to recreate it myself. This is what it would look like but it will have to wait until next year.

However, what does one do when coming home from a long day at work and craving for some comfort and food or comfort food so to speak? You skip dinner, of course, it's past 11pm after all, and rather go straight for dessert instead. In my opinion, there's not much a warm, smooth pudding couldn't fix - even if it actually is a custard, technically speaking.
This really fool-proof recipe fits perfectly into Zorra's theme "The proof is in the pudding" or "The proof of the pudding is in the eating", as the original version of the saying goes.

As I've mentioned before, I quite like the ready-to-use custard mixes you can get in Germany and always make sure to take some with me when visiting my family. However, in order to qualify for SHF#38, this one would have to be made from scratch. It's not quite as fast as opening a sachet but it's dead easy nonetheless. And in case I haven't said it yet, it's truly delicious!

Warm Chocolate Pudding (or Custard)

The ingredients

1/2 l whole milk
40g cornstarch
50g sugar
40g cocoa, dutch-processed
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 egg yolk (optional)
1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

The yield
2 big servings or 3 smaller ones

1
Pour 6 tablespoons of the milk (I like to use more) into a mixing bowl. Bring the remainder of the milk to a boil.

2
Add cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste, and cocoa to the reserved milk. Mix thoroughly with a balloon whisk until smooth.

3
Once the milk has reached boiling point, take it off the heat and pour in the cocoa mixture. Keep stirring while doing this.

4
Let the pudding come to a boil once more and let it cook for a minute, stirring all the time. The pudding will thicken quickly.

5
While still hot, whisk in add egg yolk and rum. You need to keep whisking until you are ready to pour the pudding into serving dishes or a skin will form on top.

The source
Adapted from Hedwig Maria Stuber: Ich helf Dir kochen

The hint
This recipe states a lot of cocoa. Unless you're fond of a bittersweet, dark chocolate taste, either decrease the amount of cocoa to 20-30g or add more sugar (can be done at the last step). I've added more sugar but afterwards thought that the original amount is enough.

If you like a lighter texture, fold in a stiffly beaten egg white.

19 comments:

Jen said...

Wow, that looks amazing. Now here is something to start off the Christmas celebrations. Just wonderful!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Eva, this is a luxurious dessert!!
I love how dark it is - and so creamy!

Katy said...

ohhhh, I wanted to make a pudding too but now I see I've missed the cutoff. yours looks absolutely decadent and so chocolatey! yum.

Brilynn said...

I will definitely be making this... I could so go for some easy comfort food right now.

zorra said...

Oh, davon hätte ich jetzt gerne eine bis zwei Portionen. Klingt lecker und das Foto ist toll.

Danke, dass du trotz viel Arbeit die Zeit gefunden hast am SHF mitzumachen.

darlenesantos said...

Can't wait to try this. Is there anything I can substitute the vanilla bean paste for? Not sure where to find that..

Nora B. said...

Hi Eva, I like you attitude - skip straight to dessert! :-)

This looks so comforting. I love such puddings(custards).

Love the contrast of the blue and the dark choc colours.

Eva said...

Thanks Jenjen, it's just the right thing to have after a Christmas shopping trip!

Patricia - It's so soothing, I could eat it by the bucketload, these days...

Do make it, Katy, no matter what..;-)

I can only encourage you, Brilynn! I think the chocolate version beats the sachet (on the vanilla front, it's a very tight finish)!

Ich wollte unbedingt mitmachen, Zorra! Und wenn man sich einredet, dass es ja relativ low-fat ist, dann kann man gleich nochmal eine Portion kochen..;-)

Darlene - You could use anything from vanilla extract to vanilla sugar or even a real vanilla bean (however, I'm not sure if it's worth it as you can't taste the vanilla. It's only rounding out the chocolate taste).

Nora - Sometimes, savoury food just doesn't do it for me...;-) I feel like I need some more of that stuff right now...

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That chocolate pudding looks gorgeous! I love such sweet delights...

Cheers,

Rosa

Freya said...

Dreamy! I love anything custardy and combine that with chocolate and simplicity and I'm there!!

Sayangku Ayone said...

Hi Eva, your pudding looks tempting and the picture is great. Nice shot!

Rgds,
Sefa

Cookie baker Lynn said...

That looks like totally perfect comfort food! Definitely worth coming home for.

Half Baked said...

I LOVE chocolate pudding. Yours looks divine!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

that is some top notch photography. Love the focus on the spoon . The pudding looks irresistible .

Phoenix Ascending said...

I really must try this. The hubby won't enjoy it and he shouldn't have it but my little boy and I adore chocolate pudding.

Eva said...

Thanks for all the lovely comments, guys! Sorry for not responding earlier, I've just come home from my Christmas trip! I wish you all a wonderful 2008!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Eva, that is very nice recipe for chocolate pudding. I tried the other day to make it the way my mom was preparing it when we were children, but it did not taste as good as in my memories... I must try your recipe.

Greetings from London, Margot

Eva said...

Hi Margot, it's always tricky when a dish has to live up to treasured memories... With all the cocoa, this is more of an adult pudding but I'm almost certain you'll like it..;-)

Suzana Parreira said...

Eva, that's an AWESOME photo! And the pudding must have been delicious too.