Pudding and I go way back and I’ve been loving it my whole life. Similar to custard, pudding’s creamy consistency comes from cornflour (aka cornstarch) or sometimes tapioca rather than eggs. As a child my granny used to make me pudding from scratch all the time. I found it so impressive primarily because it was the 80’s and there were instant powdered mixes that took only minutes to make and single serving individual pudding cups you could buy. At granny’s house however it was all homemade and I’m happy to report that I’ve kept that tradition alive. Pudding is so easy to make at home and probably cheaper than the box mixes in the long run, so there’s no reason not to give it a go.
This recipe is serving up some rather pretty, grown-up looking pudding cups. Decorated with a dollop of whipped cream and grated dark chocolate, these are not the mass produced plastic pudding cups from my childhood and they taste even better. As cute as this dessert is I would absolutely multiply the quantities to serve at a dinner party, but most of the time I make this quantity for just the two of us at home and it’s always a nice treat.
Ingredients
- 25g dark chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour
- 4 tablespoons white caster sugar
- 300ml whole milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100ml double cream
- 1 teaspoon white caster sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grated dark chocolate for serving
Method
- Add the dark chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cornflour, caster sugar, milk and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir while gently heating until everything is melted and combined. Continue stirring constantly while simmering for about 2 minutes – it will start to thicken. Finally stir in the 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
- Divide the chocolate pudding equally between two small glasses, bowls or ramekins. You could even use coffee or tea cups if you wanted. Pop the pudding cups into the fridge and leave them to set for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve, whip 100ml of double cream to soft peaks using a whire wisk or an electric whisk if you have one. Add the caster sugar and vanilla extract and whip a little more, but be careful not to overwhip it.
- Divide the cream equally between the two set pudding cups using a spoon to dollop it on top. Finish by grating some dark chocolate on top.