In my mind, there is very little chocolate pudding won’t solve.
It’s cold and creamy, nostalgic and comforting.
It’s also equally appreciated after a light summer meal or a hearty winter dinner.
And, as the recipe title suggests, it’s a decadent guilty pleasure that seems to taste even better when indulged in the middle of the night, in the dark of the kitchen, alone with your thoughts and sleeplessness.
I first found this recipe in 2010. And it continues to be the best – and easiest! – I’ve come across. Enjoy!
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Chocolate Pudding at Midnight
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Pudding
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Although the pudding itself can be made in about 30 minutes, be sure to account for the additional cooling time (at least 30 minutes).
Ingredients
Scale
- ¼ cup cornstarch (32 g)
- ½ cup sugar (100 g)
- ¼ tsp fine-grain salt (like table or sea salt)
- 3 cups whole milk
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate (60%), chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler.
- Slowly whisk in the milk. Scrape 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 with the spatula. Use a whisk as necessary should lumps begin to form.
- After 15-20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spatula, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for ~2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour into individual serving dishes, or one large dish.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
Notes
- To make the pudding, be sure to use a proper double boiler or a stainless steel bowl. The milk mixture will take forever to thicken in a glass bowl.
- When setting up the double boiler, you only need a little water - it's actually the steam that is doing the cooking here, not the water itself. Make sure the bottom of the double boiler or stainless steel bowl doesn't touch the boiling water. You don't want to burn the milk mixture.
- The recipe references switching back and forth between a spatula and a whisk. A whisk incorporates a lot of air into the milk mixture, which you don't want. So use the spatula as much as possible to scrape the bottom of the bowl, and then use the whisk, only as needed, to break up any clumps that are starting to form.
- If you want extra-silky pudding, before pouring into the serving dish(es), strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. (To be honest, though, I rarely do this.)
- Pudding skin: Yes or No? If you don't want pudding skin, be sure to place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding before refrigerating.
- If you keep the pudding in the refrigerator closer to 3 days, be aware that natural water separation may appear. No worries! The pudding will still be delicious.
- This recipe is very slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who found it via Wednesday Chef, who found it in the Scharffenberger cookbook, Essence of Chocolate. Whew! That's an impressive recipe trail 😉
Amanda Riley
Made this. With my son. So delicious. So easy. I like to make the kid work for desert (instead of buying a box o'cookies at the grocery) so he knows to appreciate it, but I, myself, do not like to work for desert. This recipe did the job. Put it in 4 oz mason jars so he could take it for lunch all week long. Saved out a generous portion for me to enjoy after kids go to bed.
Sarah Marx Feldner
thank you!!! and it sounds like the best of both worlds: pudding for lunch for the kid, and pudding at night for you! 😉