Must be pudding, ’cause Jell-O don’t shake like that.
We live on the fifth floor of a walk-up building. It’s annoying at times, and when we moved in we were told, “you get used to it.” You don’t, that is a lie. You never get used to walking up five flights of stairs just because you forgot your umbrella (I spend a lot of money on cheap umbrellas so I don’t have to go back up those stairs. Don’t judge.) However, it is something you learn to deal with, just like we’ve learned to deal with the hospital morgue that faces our front door and subsequently our bedroom window, and the sobering views that entails.. Or the college dorms next door that leave crowds of chain-smoking hipsters standing around in huge crowds in the middle of the sidewalk. Or our neighbors constantly vacuuming their wooden floors (again, guys, really?)
You don’t get used to these things, per se, but you do learn to deal with them. I consider those five flights of stairs a bargain compared to what it would cost for a gym membership, and my jeans are fitting better than ever. The college kids are gone for summer, and we have six glorious weeks of sidewalks as wide open as prairies. The morgue is still there, but hey! Frailty of life, right?
So, along with looking on the bright side of life, I made dark chocolate pudding. Not too sweet and icy cold out of the fridge, this is my reward for those stairs at the end of a long day. It’s a little bit of childhood, only ten times better than anything Bill Cosby ever hawked. It’s Spring, finally. Chocolate-pudding-straight-out-of-the-mixing-bowl time.
Dark Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 finger pinch of salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted chilled butter, cut into peices
- 3 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Set a fine mesh sieve over a large mixing bowl. In a sauce pan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk, then the yolks. Turn on the burner to medium heat.
- Cook slowly, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick like mayonnaise (about 7-8 minutes) Whisk one more minute. Remove from heat and pour through the seive, pressing through with a spatula. Add the butter, vanilla and chopped chocolate and stir until complately combined.
- Divide into ramekins, or, if preferred, a smaller bowl that comfortably holds the pudding.
- Press plastic wrap directly against the top of the pudding and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight
Notes
- Semisweet chocolate can be substituted for the dark chocolate if you prefer. To compensate the sweetness, only use 1/4 cup sugar
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