Deep Chocolate Pudding

Few things are as sweet, uncomplicated and satisfying as a goblet of creamy, homemade chocolate pudding. I’m a fan, because I have a huge sweet tooth and love cooking sweet dishes…

Like in most families, my mom frequently made pudding for desert when we were kids. Whipped up in a matter of minutes, the aroma quickly drifted around the house and tempted us all, wishing it were time for dinner already. Served chilled, in cut-glass dessert dishes with a dollop of cream and curled shavings of dark chocolate it suitably passes as a delicious and sophisticated dessert fit for the King himself.

As a kid, I practically grew up on "postre rosa",  the pink-colored, strawberry-flavored instant pudding made by Royal in Argentina. As a grown up, my favorite became chocolate pudding  as a result of a decadently rich recipe my grandmother produced for large, informal family gatherings with lots of kids.

I still eat pudding more than any other dessert: it trumps cookies, brownies, gooey-filled cake and fruit pies. It only ranks second to ice cream, and trust me, that is quite a feat.

 So I figured pudding deserved an entry all of its own in my blog.

Despite the convenience of boxed instant puddings… I still think homemade pudding tastes pretty incredible and trumps its industrial, mass-produced cousin. So here below, honoring this preference and after having tried multiple recipes from different books, you will find my favorite chocolate pudding recipe of all time.  

Below you will find a delectable recipe originally concocted by Regan Daley and featured in his book “In the Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker's Companion”. It’s super easy, easier than pie!

Deep Chocolate Pudding recipe

Prep: 20 min.
Cook: 15

Makes: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups whole milk (3.5%), or substitute 2% milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream (36%)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces good-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate


Lightly sweetened whipped cream, to serve, if desired

Directions:

1) Place the sugar in a large bowl and sift over it the cornstarch, cocoa and salt. 

2) Add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir the mixture to make a thick paste. 

3) Lightly beat the egg yolks, then add these to the cornstarch mixture, whisking to blend well.

4) Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups milk and the cream. Bring these just to the boil, then remove the pot from the heat. 

5) Pour a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the cornstarch-cocoa mixture, whisking constantly. 

6) Continue to whisk the milk-cream mixture into the bowl gradually, until all of the liquid has been incorporated, and the mixture is smooth. 

7) Rinse out the pot used to scald the milk and cream, but don't dry it; this will help prevent the pudding from scorching on the bottom. Pour the custard into the clean pot and add the vanilla.

8) Return the pot to the stove and stir with a wooden spoon over low to medium-low heat until the custard thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes. It should approach, but never quite reach, the boil It will get increasingly lumpy to the point where, just as it reaches the right thickness, it will seem chunky. Quickly remove the pot from the element and pour into the clean bowl, pressing the custard through with a rubber spatula.

9) Add the finely chopped or grated chocolate in two additions, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted smoothly into the pudding. 

10) Spoon the pudding into 6 to 8 serving dishes or goblets and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.

The obscure origins of pudding

Despite its culinary simplicity, the origins of pudding are quite complicated. So…If you are curious about the history of pudding, keep reading! 

But for those of you who may be a bit indecisive… I can’t resist intriguing you and I shall sow the seeds of curiosity so you do read on… 

For did you know that sausage and pudding have the same origin? 

That’s right! 

Puddings in all their variety and glory may be seen as one of the multiple descendants of the Roman sausage. Hard to believe isn’t it? Talk about an experiment gone wrong… or a dish that finally came into its own after surviving all sorts of adolescent transformations through the ages! 

Perseverance definitely paid off in this case.

 The creamy dessert we think of today as pudding is in reality more closely related to custard. In the begging, pudding was a whole different kettle of fish..! Pudding as we know it today did not came into being until the 19^th century, when the history of custard and the history of pudding converged to produce the dessert so popularly enjoyed.

Pudding through the ages

Throughout time, many different kinds of foods have been known by the name of pudding. The British claim pudding as part of their culinary heritage, and it is certainly a characteristic dish of British cuisine.  Food historians generally agree that the first puddings made by ancient cooks were similar to sausages. Medieval puddings known as “black pudding” and white pudding” were mostly meat-based.  I won’t go into what black pudding is made of… let us spare the details and instead just be reminded that it resembles sausage and has a not too distant connection with Scottish Haggis. 

White pudding, in turn, was almost completely cereal in composition, usually containing a suet and breadcrumb mixture. It was enriched and flavored in different manners. 

Christmas pudding

From this primitive white pudding sweet versions developed later so that by the 17th century, English puddings were either savory (meat-based) or sweet (flour, nuts & sugar) . They were made by boiling the mixture in special pudding bags.

By the latter half 18th century traditional English puddings no longer included meat. In the 19th century due to advances in modern cuisine equipment, puddings were still boiled but the finished product was more like cake, such as the traditional plum pudding typically served at Christmas time.

Custard

The history of custard is likewise ancient. This food followed a separate path that converged with pudding in 19^th century America.

 Ancient Roman cooks discovered were the first to recognize the binding properties of eggs. They became experts at creating several egg-based dishes, like, patina (similar to a Spanish tortilla), croustades and omelettes. These Roman foods were either savory - made with cheese, meat, pepper etc. - or sweet and flavored with honey, nuts, cinnamon and other spices.

Custard was much used in the Middle Ages as a filling and a binder for other fillings in the quiches, bread pudding, flans and tarts so popular in that time. In fact, that is how custard got its name; custard is derived from the word “crustade”: a tart with a crust. During the Middle ages, custard was eaten alone or used as fillings. In the 16th century fruit creams' became popular. These were sweet made with cream, and pureed fruit and it became usual to make custards in dishes or individual cups rather than in a pastry case.

Over time, custard gave rise to Flan, a dessert becoming probably the most famous and widely adapted custard dessert in the world. In France, custard became crème and a path towards creations such as éclairs, crème brulee and crème caramel.

Custard became so widespread and popular that different recipes flourished in Europe, Asia and America.

Alfred Byrd and the modern custard… instant pudding!

Sometime in the 1840s the distinction between European custard and American pudding got muddled. At that time in America, traditional boiled puddings were no longer necessary to feed the average family. There was plenty of food. 
This also happened to be the same time when Alfred Bird, an English chemist, introduced custard powder as an alternative to egg thickeners. 

In England, Alfred Bird had been experimenting with a custard based on corn flour rather than eggs, because his wife was allergic to eggs.  An astute businessman, when his recipe became successful in 1847, Alfred marketed the result, and the empire of Byrd custard was born.

It wasn't long before Americans began using custard powder for custard-type desserts too. This was very useful for wagon cooks who did not have ready access to a reliable supply of fresh eggs.

By the turn of the 20th century recipes for all sorts of corn-starch puddings, most noticeably chocolate and tapioca, were featured in mainstream cookbooks, both under the categories of dessert and convalescent foods.

Jell-O introduced its chocolate pudding mix in 1926, cashing in on the fact that people loved chocolate pudding and believed that "store bought it better." Jell-O wasn't the only brand of gelatin desserts & puddings. Other popular brands were Knox and Royal. All three brands published recipe booklets to promote their products. And voila, there you have it, pudding as we know it today!