Homemade Chocolate Pudding

There are some desserts that are saved for special occasions. Elaborate cakes, luscious custards, beautiful pastries and pies. These are all wonderful and I am not going to pass them up if offered a serving, but sometimes a girl just wants comfort dessert. The kind of dessert that can be eaten in her pajamas while watching a movie, or hiding in the pantry so the kids don’t eat every bite. (I can’t be the only mom that does this.)

To me, chocolate pudding is the ultimate, non-fussy, comfort dessert. I adore the creamy texture and rich chocolate taste that almost envelopes you in a warm hug. These dramatic emotions can only be had when making homemade pudding. That boxed powder “pudding” or premade cups of gelatinous “chocolate flavored” goop doesn’t cut it around here. Thankfully, making pudding from scratch is super easy, and 100 times worth it. Dress it up with some easy toppings and chocolate pudding is a guest worthy dessert that everyone will be fighting over.

So, if you are craving the ultimate comfort dessert, I beg you to give homemade chocolate pudding a try. Just be prepared to hide a serving for yourself, because the incredible smell of hot chocolate wafting through the house will bring the whole family rushing in to take a bite!

Makes 4-5 cups (8 servings)

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

4 Cups Whole Milk, Divided

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch or flour

6 Egg Yolks

¼ tsp. Salt

1/3 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine cocoa powder, sugar and 3 cups of milk. Place over medium heat and whisk continuously until the mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, salt and the remaining cup of milk.
Slowly add a small amount of the chocolate liquid to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Continue adding ¼ cup at a time, until the eggs are tempered. (Tempering eggs slowly raises the temperature of the eggs, so they remain silky and not scrambled.)
Add the liquid back to the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking continuously. Once the pudding comes to a slow boil, reduce the heat to low and whisk until the pudding begins to thicken. Remove from the heat.
Place a fine metal sieve over a large bowl. Pour the pudding through the sieve to remove any lumps.
Pour into desired serving dishes and cover the pudding with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Garnish with homemade whipped cream, crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, or make S’mores pudding with toasted marshmallows and graham crackers.

To make S’mores pudding cups, place a marshmallow on top of each pudding. Use a kitchen torch to carefully burn the tops of the marshmallows. Break apart graham crackers and add to the pudding cups. If you don’t have a torch, you can line a baking sheet with foil and place marshmallows on the sheet. Preheat your oven to broil, then place the marshmallows under the broiler for just a few minutes, until they are dark brown. Let them cool slightly before transferring to the top of the pudding cups.

Chocolate pudding keeps in the refrigerator up to 3 days. I dare you to try and make it last that long!

What is your favorite way to top chocolate pudding?