Have you ever made homemade pudding before? I never knew until this weekend just how simple it is–and how utterly delicious the results are! This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to Shannon’s blog, Searching for Dessert and I am so glad that I was–otherwise I may never have discovered the wonder of homemade pudding!! And this version is luscious, rich chocolate pudding so it is very wondrous. 🙂
If you’ve missed my past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog… all while keeping your assignment a secret! Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.
If you’ve never visited Shannon’s blog, you’re missing out! As the name implies, the focus is on dessert… as well as meatless recipes! Yum to both! There are SO many new recipes I’d love to try, like these Cranberry and Pecan Granola Bites and this Parmesan Pizza Dough. Everything I saw looked amazing, but since Shannon is an excellent photographer and a former pastry chef, that is no surprise. Now, she is a student [graduating this year, like me… yay! By the way, I don’t think I’ve announced this here yet but I turned in a FULL DRAFT of my thesis a couple weeks ago! I’ll have to do revisions later this month, but this is a big step forward. :)]. Shannon is also a wife and a mother–most recently the new mom of a little girl. So fun! I’m sure her family loves it when she makes this quick chocolate pudding for dessert at night. It’s no pastry but it sure is tasty.
This rich, fudgy chocolate pudding is amazing! It comes together in a flash [hence the quick part].  Probably the hardest part is straining the lumps out at the end. Seriously. You just gotta be prepared and have all the ingredients ready as you go along. Even if it was a bit more complicated, I think I would still love it just as much because it is SO much better than any pudding mix you can buy at the store.
Since the pudding cooks and thickens on the stove, there is really no need for refrigeration prior to serving. I had never had warm pudding before, and man, was it good! It was like eating a bowl of milky hot fudge. It was also great cold, but it was such a treat hot out of the pan. Shannon’s original recipe called for flavoring the chocolate pudding with fruit, specifically black cherries. I intended to buy some, but just never did, so we enjoyed the pudding plain and also with coconut and mini chocolate chips. Be sure to check out her original post for more fruit ideas… she had a ton.
I feel like this post is super scattered, but just to emphasize again… this Quick Chocolate Pudding is superb! It is rich and chocolatey, with richness drawn from the coffee, vanilla, and butter. If you aren’t a coffee fan, don’t be scared–you don’t actually taste it, it just serves as a flavor enhancer. I won’t go so far as to say I’ll never make boxed pudding again… but I really shouldn’t. I’ve been enlightened… and I can’t wait to find more pudding recipes now. Anyone have some they wanna send my way? 🙂 Enjoy… and go show Shannon and her new baby girl some love at Searching for Dessert!
Quick Chocolate Pudding [from Searching for Dessert]
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup coffee, hot
- 1 cup milk, hot
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate [I used a block of chocolate but Shannon used chips]
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 cup fruit, if desired [Shannon used frozen black cherries]
Directions:
Add sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa powder to a medium saucepan and whisk well to blend. Then pour in the hot coffee and whisk again until fully incorporated.
Then, place the saucepan over medium high heat. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking after each addition. Using a wooden spoon, consistently stir the mixture for 2-3 minutes as it thickens.
Add chocolate, and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter, stir until melted.
Set a fine strainer or sieve over a bowl and push the pudding through to remove any lumps. This will take a few minutes, but the results are well worth it.
Serve immediately, with 1/4 cup fruit per 3/4 cup serving [if desired]. Alternatively, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap [touching the pudding] and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
Time: 20 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings [3/4 cup each].
Be sure to check out the other SRC posts today here:
The Pajama Chef 
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