Recipes: chocolate pudding

I am obsessed with whipped cream. I like to make it the old-fashioned way, in a big pyrex bowl with a whisk and some elbow grease.

As a kid I never cared for the Cool Whip variety and assumed all whipped cream was the same: flat flavor, almost greasy texture. Then I met Mark. Mark and I keep an ongoing list of foods and flavors I introduced to him, and those that he introduced to me, and the list of foods I showed him is way longer. But. The boy introduced me to the delights of real whipped cream and, consequently, a whole lifetime of enjoying desserts. The pure flavor and surprisingly light texture of just whipped cream is unparalleled in my book.

Given the heat here, I've been racking my brain (and del.icio.us tags) for easy summer desserts that a) would be delicious with some homemade whipped cream and (b) don't require hours in front of the stove or oven. For those of you in a similar predicament, can I strongly suggest you make some chocolate pudding?


(picture via Flickr; check out her other food pictures too! I am sad to report that the chocolate pudding I made was very beautiful - but we were in such a hurry to polish it off that I never had a chance to take pictures.)

My beloved Baking by Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for chocolate pudding but I was turned off by the necessity of a food processor and the long ingredient list. I looked elsewhere for an unfussy recipe that would result in an indulgent, but not too rich, pudding.

Luckily for me, a recipe (Scharffenberger via Wednesday Chef) I had tagged eons ago was just sitting in my del.icio.us account waiting for me to pay attention. The result of about 20 minutes of whisking was silky, voluptuous chocolate pudding - just what I wanted while absorbing all the 1960s nostalgia of AMC's Mad Men.

Silky Chocolate Pudding
Serves 6

Notes: The recipe calls for a double boiler but the pudding can be made without it. I used extremely low heat and stirred the mixture constantly with a whisk to prevent scorching. Don't stop whisking.

I did not push the pudding through a sieve and had no lumps, probably due to my constant whisking.

I used Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips. Scharffenberger chocolate would have been divine but was nowhere to be found at the store.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups whole milk
• 6 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler. Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients. Place over gently simmering water and stir occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. Use a whisk as necessary should lumps begin to form. After 15 to 20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smoooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a serving bowl or into a large measuring cup with a spout and pour into individual serving dishes.

3. If you like pudding skin, pull plastic wrap over the top of the serving dish(es) before refrigerating. If you dislike pudding skin, place plastic wrap on top of the pudding and smooth it gently against the surface before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

Serve this with whipped cream and go crazy.