Tuesdays With Dorie - Chocolate Pudding

I have been such a slacker this summer. You would think with no classes or school activities, I would have more time to blog. Oh, I've found plenty of time to bake and cook. I just never get in the mood to actually go online and blog about them. Actually, it has to deal more with my laptop overheating and shutting down without warning rather than laziness. The sad part is I can't open my laptop base (the bezel for you techies) to get to my fan. I can get it 75% open, but not enough to reach the fan. I'm tempted just to shell out the $35 and get it cleaned by professionals. Maybe they can teach me how to open the bezel.

I should have a little more free time now that my internship is finished. I was at Fox 53 with their commercial production department. Just as the name states, clients contact them and they shoot :30 and/or :60 commercials. Right now, not only are they doing commercials, they are working on a huge, 3-hour program for The Children's Institute. It is one of the best schools for children with special needs in the country. The place, especially the kids, made me smile every time we went there.

Because of my unpaid internship, I have been working less at my paid job. What does this have to do with me slacking with Tuesdays With Dorie? Simple - my restricted budget. Most of the recipes picked involved me buying ingredients. Although I would be up for buying fresh produce or whatever, I had to cut back on spending somewhere this summer. Once I start getting more hours at my paid job, I should hopefully be back more often. I'm surprised I haven't been kicked out of the group yet. Whenever I found out today's recipe was chocolate pudding, I ran out and bought whole milk. A 16 oz. container was only 73 cents. I'm not sure if skim milk could be substituted because the fat content may contribute to the creaminess and thickness of the pudding, so if anybody out there used skim milk and was successful, please let me know. Also, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate. If you don't have a food processor, use a blender. Just be careful when pouring the hot milk mixture in because it may overflow.

One thing I noticed while reading the instructions was it is almost the same instructions as the Split-Level Pudding. In fact, the only part that was different is the chocolate ganache part.

Mine took about 3 hours to set rather than the 4 hours Dorie suggests. When serving, use pretty coffee mugs or ramekins. Top with some whipped cream and chocolate shavings (which I didn't have). I guarantee that they taste better than how my picture looks simply because my batteries were dying, and I had to take a quick pic!


Chocolate Pudding




2 1/4 cups whole milk
6 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and still warm
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Bring 2 cups of whole milk and 3 Tbsp sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a blender or food processor, blend 3 Tbsp sugar and egg yolks for 1 minute. Add remaining 1/4 cup milk and pulse just to mix. Then add cornstarch, cocoa, and salt and pulse a few more times.

2. While the machine is still running, very slowly add hot milk mixture. Process for a few seconds more, then pour everything back into the saucepan. Whisk without stopping over medium heat until the pudding thickens and some bubbles burble and pop on the surface. Do not let it boil completely, so if it hasn't thickened yet, feel free to turn down the heat.

3. Scrape the pudding back into the machine (avoid any scorched spots) and pulse a few more times. Add butter, chocolate, and vanilla and pulse until evenly blended.

5. Pour the pudding evenly into four 6-oz or six 4-oz ramekins/cups. Press a piece of plastic wrap over each surface to prevent a milk skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Source: Baking: From My Home To Yours, 2006 p. 383