This weekend, Alex graduates from college/grad school. He’ll be receiving his bachelor’s & master’s degree in Computer Science with a minor in Math.. and also some fancy data computing certificate that I can’t begin to understand. Tonight, he’s off to the casino to celebrate with his mom – I just got a new KitchenAid mixer (Aqua Sky – SO excited), so I’d much rather be playing in the kitchen. For his first night of officially being done, though, I made him some chocolate pudding. He had been asking for boxed pudding mix, but I made him something much better, although almost just as easy.
This pudding is made from a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard: cocoa powder, corn starch, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. No funny chemicals like the mix you’d buy at the store. And of course, being homemade, it tastes a billion times better, too. It’s actually chocolatey, rather than the barest hint of a chocolate flavor that you’re probably used to.
I find this pudding to be rather rich in flavor without seeming to weigh you down. It’s definitely not something I’d consider healthy, but it’s definitely something I feel is worth indulging in every once in a while – it’s not nearly as high in sugar as some other desserts. You could probably use erythritol if you’d like it to be sugar-free, but I didn’t want to mess with it, since I was making it for Alex, after all.
This would be lovely with a dollop of whipped cream (to cut some of the chocolate flavor) or as a dip for berries. It can also be used as a component to make dirt (a childhood favorite), and you can use greek yogurt instead of the whipped cream in that to keep it high in protein and healthier – recipe here.
This is a dessert that I’m okay with eating instead of ice cream, which is really saying something. Actually, it’d probably be pretty fantastic as ice cream. I will no doubt try it before the summer is over, if I ever make room for my ice cream maker bowl in the freezer.
Hopefully this recipe will keep me from ever buying pudding mixes again, but I’ll admit, sometimes the convenience prevails. Do you try to make things homemade when you can, or would you rather go for the ease of a boxed mix? Share in the comments below.
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
- 3 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, corn starch, and salt. Pour in the milk, and whisk to combine.
Begin heating over medium heat, stirring to make sure the dry ingredients dissolve into the milk (it'll be pretty frothy at this point). Continue heating and stirring for about 4 minutes, until it begins to thicken.
Once it begins to thicken, continue stirring and heating for about 4 more minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Pour into a heat proof bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the top of the pudding to make sure you don't get a film on top. Refrigerate for about 4 hours before serving.
https://cookingalamel.com/2013/05/homemade-chocolate-pudding.html