The food of gods, as it is often called, is something that very few can actually resist. Chocolate is and always has been the best way to fight away the blues, and when you are in the mood to have chocolate in an unadulterated form, a chocolate pudding may be exactly what you need.
Do you want a piece of chocolate? For almost two years, my answer to this question was pretty much always in the negative. Of course, I have come back to my senses, and today devour chocolate, relishing it with the same vigor as I did earlier.
Give me chocolate in any form and I am a goner. But my favorite variety of chocolate since my childhood has been a type of pudding that my mother used to make. Of course, most adults tend to turn their nose at the idea of eating a dessert that now is easily available in plastic packs.
But the fact of the matter is that, if made well and if presented in a manner that is more appetizing than a plastic container, chocolate pudding can definitely be a dessert fit for kings. In this story, we tell you how you can achieve that.
Making Chocolate Pudding
The process of actually making chocolate pudding from the most basic of steps is not exactly very difficult, though it may seem so. In order to make pudding, the most important thing that you will need is obviously chocolate.
While there are some people who prefer using grated chocolate, it is a process that is not only time-consuming, but many people have also experienced the problem of grated chocolate not melting as fast. If you want to make pudding from chocolate, then just follow the simple steps given here.
First, get a hold of these things.
Cocoa, unsweetened, 4 tablespoons
Whole milk, 2 cups
Cornstarch, 3 tablespoons
Sugar, 5 tablespoons
Salt, a pinch
Vanilla essence, 2 teaspoons
Follow the simple instructions given below, to create the most delicious pudding ever.
Take a stove and pour about one and a half cup of milk into it, and keep it to heat on a low flame. Allow the milk to simmer till you see bubbles forming around the milk. Ensure that you do not allow it to boil over.
Now take a bowl and put in the cornstarch, sugar, salt, cocoa, and about half a cup of milk. Ensure that the milk is cold. Stir this concoction properly, and pour into the boiling milk.
While pouring the concoction, increase the flame and bring it to a medium, so that the mixture is allowed to boil. Next, take a bowl and pour the mixture into it, and set it apart for cooling. It is at this point that you can add the vanilla essence.
This is the basic recipe that you need to follow in order to the pudding. There are some recipes that call for adding eggs and butter to the pudding, but that is a personal choice, and is something that will only make the pudding richer.
While it is possible to have this pudding as it is, or even cool it and have it with whipped cream, there are many different modifications that you can make to a chocolate pudding to make it a more grown-up dessert.
Some ideas that can add a gourmet value to your pudding are.
Bring a Mexican flavor to the pudding by adding flavors like cinnamon and almonds to it. Ensure that the pudding is served cold with a dollop of whipped cream.
If you are looking for a slightly more conventional recipe, then just replace the cocoa with bittersweet or dark chocolate, to give the recipe a more heavy flavor. This is a pudding though that will be appreciated much more by adults.
So you want to make a change to the traditional chocolate pudding. Well, you could give it a huge twist by making a bittersweet chocolate pudding pie.
An unexpected flavor that can be added to the pudding is a fennel flavor. Aniseeds also bring a flavor that is extremely unexpected, and can be so very delicious.
These are just some of the decadent twists to a normal chocolate pudding that you can try out. Learning to make pudding from chocolate is easy, but it is making one that truly rises above its humble appearance that can be the task to accomplish.