he time has come to put
away those little boxes of commercially made puddings that we have been brainwashed into
thinking are the same as homemade. As Jane Grigson states in her wonderful
book "English Food", "another blow (along with the stinginess with cream and
using margarine instead of butter) has been the commercialization of puddings,
pre-mixed in packets, with skimmed milk powder, chemical flavor, chemical color
and chemical preservatives".
This chocolate pudding is wonderfully rich and creamy with a deep
chocolate flavor that comes from using both Dutch-processed cocoa powder
and semisweet chocolate. When you make a pudding what you are really doing is making a 'cooked' chocolate
custard. The only real difference is that you add cornstarch (corn flour)
to the custard and this is done to make the pudding thick enough to eat with a
spoon.The danger zone
with any custard is cooking it over too high a heat causing lumps or even worse,
scorching. To avoid these pitfalls use a heavy bottomed saucepan and cook
it over medium low heat, stirring constantly with a large heatproof rubber
spatula. Make sure when stirring you reach the bottom, sides and corners
of the saucepan to prevent the pudding from sticking and scorching. As you
cook the pudding it may look lumpy but if you stir quickly the lumps should
smooth out. Once the pudding has become thick, like mayonnaise, remove
immediately from the heat. Straining the pudding will help get rid of any lumps that may have formed. Once you have added the chopped chocolate, vanilla and butter avoid over mixing the
ingredients as the pudding is quite fragile at this stage. If you like
your chocolate pudding warm, then by all means eat it right away. But if
you like your pudding cold, simply press plastic wrap
onto the surface of the puddings and refrigerate until firm (a couple of hours). For those who like a skin (film) on the top of their pudding, let the pudding cool
uncovered and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Although most Americans think of puddings as soft, milk based desserts, there are, in fact, many types. As John Mariani states in his 'Dictionary of American Food & Drink', "pudding is a
term describing several different desserts, usually cooked, including cake like
confections such as plum pudding; or a dish of suet crust containing fruits and
sugar; or a spongy steamed dish; or a pastry crust filled with chopped meats,
like kidney; or Yorkshire Pudding, a crisp bread like side dish made from a
flour-and-egg batter cooked in pan drippings". They can be steamed, cooked
on the stove (sometimes in a double boiler) or in the oven (usually in a water
bath) and are enjoyed both hot or cold.
In a large stainless steel
(heatproof) bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Then
whisk in 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the milk until you have a thick paste. Add
the egg yolks, one at a time, whisking to blend into the cocoa paste mixture. Set aside while you heat the milk and cream. Have
a fine medium-sized strainer and bowl ready near the stove as you will need to
strain the pudding after it is cooked.
First, rinse a medium-sized
heavy saucepan
with cold water and then shake out the excess water. Doing this step prevents
the milk from scorching. Then pour in the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) milk with the cream. Bring this
mixture just to a boil and then remove from heat. (The milk will foam up
to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Gradually pour the
milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean large, heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low
heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the
consistency of mayonnaise (about 3 - 5 minutes). Remove from heat and pour
through the strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking.
Add the finely chopped
chocolate, vanilla extract, and butter, stirring gently with a rubber spatula
until the mixture is smooth. Pour into 6 to 8 bowls or wine glasses. Can serve warm or if chilling, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the warm
puddings to prevent a skin from forming. If you are a person who likes the
skin on their pudding, simply leave the pudding uncovered until cooled and then
cover with plastic wrap. Can be made a day or two ahead of serving.
If you are like me, no
chocolate pudding is complete without a large dollop of softly whipped cream.
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he time has come to put
away those little boxes of commercially made puddings that we have been brainwashed into
thinking are the same as homemade. As Jane Grigson states in her wonderful
book "English Food", "another blow (along with the stinginess with cream and
using margarine instead of butter) has been the commercialization of puddings,
pre-mixed in packets, with skimmed milk powder, chemical flavor, chemical color
and chemical preservatives". 
