Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 dark chocolate candy bar (6.8 ounces), finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon flavored extract. We like vanilla, but you can experiment with flavors like almond, orange or mint
Preparation
Step 1
Combine the first three ingredients
In a large saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. We're adding cornstarch for two reasons. One, it helps thicken the custard, and two, it helps keep the eggs from coagulating once they're heated. (You definitely don't want bites of scrambled egg in your pudding.)
Add the milk and gently cook
At this point, were going to challenge you to multitask. Slowly pour the milk into the pan while gently whisking the ingredients. Whisk until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency. Then, dial up the burner to medium heat. Make sure to stir the pot continuously until the liquid has started to thicken and bubble. Don't be tempted to leave it unattended—your pudding might scorch!
Test Kitchen Tip: If you're a utensil connoisseur like me, a flat whisk is a great tool to reach into the corners of your sauce pan. This extra reach will make sure you whisk every bit of milk.
Lower heat and stir
Once the pudding has started to bubble, reduce the heat to low. Continue gently stirring for 2 minutes longer, then remove from heat.
Carefully add the egg yolks
Combine the egg yolks with a small portion of the hot custard mixture in a small bowl and give it a whisk to combine. This brings the eggs up to a higher temperature, so they'll mix into the pudding more smoothly, without curdling. Pour the milky yolk mix into the saucepan. Whisk again to combine.
Heat things up again
Bring the saucepan, yet again, to a gentle boil. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Test Kitchen Tip: This extra step might seem unnecessary but it's actually quite important. Why? The extra cook time kills off an enzyme in the raw yolk called alpha-amylase. If the enzyme remains in your pudding, you're likely to end up with a watery mess.
Bring on the chocolate (or other flavors)
Stir in the chopped chocolate. (Be sure to take a whiff — I absolutely love the smell of cooking chocolate.) Once it's fully melted, remove the saucepan from the heat. Top it off by stirring in the vanilla extract. Let the mix cool about 15 minutes or so, stirring once in a while to keep it smooth.
There's no limit to the flavor combinations you can achieve by simply mixing and matching ingredients.
Here are a few to get you started:
Make it a mocha: Stir 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder in with the sugar mixture at the beginning of the recipe.
Add some heat: Swap out the plain chocolate for Mexican chocolate instead.
Incorporate sweet flavors: Substitute white chocolate and orange extract for a fruity delight.
You can add lots of different flavors. Try heating up your chocolate with some cayenne, or lose the chocolate and just make vanilla pudding, maybe with some cinnamon? Get creative!
Cover with plastic wrap and cool
Once the pudding has cooled slightly, transfer it to a bowl. Press plastic wrap right onto the surface of the pudding, which helps prevent a skin from forming. Pudding skin is simply milk protein (casein) that's dried out due to evaporation. It can form a thin, rubbery layer on top of your dessert. It won't hurt you; if it happens, just scrape it off with the edge of a spoon.
Test Kitchen Tip: No plastic wrap on hand? You can also keep the skin from forming by adding a thin layer of butter. To do this, lightly dab a stick of butter on the surface of the hot mix until a thin layer has collected on top.
Refrigerate the pudding for a few hours until cold. If you can stand to wait that long, you'll be rewarded with extra rich and creamy dessert that lives up to all your efforts.