TWD: Yay for Chocolate!!!

This week at TWD we were to make some good ol' fashion chocolate pudding. It was soooo delicious, like eating a smooth fudgecicle.- of course I did use half and half instead of whole milk and made mine into pudding pie topped with oreos- but however you do it you will never want to go back to pudding in a box. I also used part unsweetened part semi sweet chocolate and a dash of peanut butter chips. Mostly for my husband who really does not like bitter chocolate and it worked really well. I made the pudding and then poured it into the graham cracker crust and placed it in the fridge for about an hour to set and then stuck it in the freezer for a couple of hours. Right before we devoured it I topped it with whip cream and some crushed up oreos.-heaven on a plate! Here is the recipe if you would like to try it and I highly recommend it.

Chocolate Pudding
Courtesy of Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• 2 ¼ cups whole milk
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and still warm
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Have six ramekins or pudding cups, each holding 4 to 6 ounces (½ to ¾ cup), at hand.

Bring 2 cups of the milk and 3 tablespoons of the sugar to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

While the milk is heating, put the cocoa, cornstarch and salt into a food processor and whir to blend. Turn them out onto a piece of wax paper, put the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, the egg and egg yolks into the processor and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup milk and pulse just to mix, then add the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to blend.

With the machine running, very slowly pour in the hot milk mixture. Process for a few seconds, then put everything back into the saucepan. Whisk without stopping over medium heat – making sure to get into the edges of the pan – until the pudding thickens and a couple of bubbles burble up to the surface and pop (about 2 minutes). You want the pudding to thicken, but you don’t want it to boil, so lower the heat if necessary.

Scrape the pudding back into the processor (if there’s a scorched spot, avoid it as you scrape) and pulse a couple of times. Add the chocolate, butter and vanilla and pulse until everything is evenly blended.

Pour the pudding into the ramekins. If you don’t want a skin to form (some people think the skin is the best part), press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of each pudding to create an airtight seal. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Makes 6 servings