Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Yes, I have conquered a fear, homemade pudding, now that I’ve made it I can’t really remember what made me so wary. I asked my mom if she had ever made pudding NOT from a box, her answer was never. My grandmother probably made pudding from scratch as a young girl but my mom doesn’t remember homemade pudding being made when she was growing. Except plum pudding but that’s a completely different beast altogether right there.
There is a generational gap in our country, you want pudding you need a box of mix and some milk, voila pudding! My mother made pudding that way, her mother at some point switched to making pudding that way and the technique and know how is lost. This can actually be applied to many foods that come in convenient packages. Rice-a-Roni only broken spaghetti and rice. Mac and Cheese, uh yeah orange cheese sauce and noodles. Cocoa is unsweetened cocoa powder, milk and sugar. The convenience of the packages makes us forget there are other ways to go. We as a nation forgot we can cook without a box because we never learned. An entire generation, in some cases two, were raised without basic food preparation knowledge. I think everything you can buy in a handy package of instant goodness can be made from scratch. And if not do I really need it? Because if I can’t whip up ____in my kitchen from conventional ingredients do I really need it? And yes I am talking about myself too because believe it or not I still buy food in boxes, just not chocolate pudding anymore.
Chocolate Pudding
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cream
1 1/2 cups milk
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 TBSP butter
mix the dry ingredients in a 4 quart pan
mix the cream and the milk together
add one cup of the cream mixture to the cornstarch mixture, stir to until the lumps disappear
add the rest of the cream mixture
place the pan over medium heat cook whisking constantly for 5 minutes
add the chopped chocolate, stir until melted
remove from heat stir in the butter until melted
cover with plastic wrap right on the pudding to keep it from getting a skin
cool for 45 minutes then spoon into bowls and serve warm or cover and refrigerate
 |
| just off the heat about to be covered |
 |
| cooled and ready for eating |
A bit more work, but the results are worth it. My 7 year thought it was too chocolaty, there can be no such thing right? I mean really, silly boy. The other little boy refused it out right, thought it was lies and blasphemy to make pudding NOT from the box. Wow tough crowd, fortunately this meant my husband and I got to nibble on it for a couple days with no little boys demanding bites. After a day in the fridge it set up pretty firm, it was almost like eating a truffle without the the coating and no silly serving sizes.
Peace and Love–
you let it cool?!?! that is some serious willpower. Warm chocolate pudding is one of the biggest comfort foods on earth. and the skin that forms on top is the best part! Yours looks wonderful and small boys are silly….
Here is an interesting link for you about things you can make at home instead of buying in a box:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/surprising-diy-homemade-foods.html
I make a chocolate mousse homemade that is similar to your pudding above. Wifey LUVS it!
I have never made pudding from scratch before, mine always come from a box. My goodness this looks good.
Awesome chocolatey chocolate pudding, love to have some.
I LOOOOVE chocolate pudding! I never knew it could be made from scratch, I always figured it was some kind of invented frankenfood.
I never knew WTF rice a roni was until I was like 20. Only to find out I'd been eating it all along — my mom just browning up some broken spaghetti, rice, and cooking w/ stock. Der! And always always homemade mac n chz over the orange packet PLEASE!
Your chocolate pudding looks so silky. You did a great job. I have a linky party on my blog every Saturday called "Sweets for a Saturday" and I'd like to invite you to stop by this weekend and link this up.
Oh my that looks so good! There is nothing like homemade pudding, and I love that you added cinnamon to it – yum!
What you said about packaged mixes is so true. I can still remember people saying scratch cakes were 'too much trouble' and 'not as good as a mix' when I was growing up – talk about media brain washing!!
Having said that, despite my ability to make seriously good homemade mac and cheese, my son and I have a terrible weakness for the orange stuff from the box. My husband thinks we are crazy. Luckily it's hard to get here in England, but once in a while we have it for a treat!!