Thanksgiving Recipe: Tiny Chocolate Puddings
Maria Zizka will be creating an entire Thanksgiving menu for KCET Food. Here's a side dish -- enjoy!
Tiny Chocolate Puddings
After the pie has been served and the plates have been cleared, there's a moment when all feels right in the world. See if you can't extend that moment for just a little while longer by serving mugs of coffee alongside these tiny chocolate puddings. Everyone will say they're full and can't possibly eat another bite, but then, who could really say no to these?
Serves 8 - 10
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
In a small bowl, stir together the yolks and ½ cup of the cream.
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the cocoa, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk. Set the pot over medium heat and cook, whisking often to dissolve the sugar, until the mixture bubbles. Remove the pot from the heat. Whisk a ladleful of the cocoa mixture into the yolk-and-cream mixture, then slowly whisk the warmed yolk-and-cream mixture back into the pot. Set the pot over medium-low heat and cook, whisking often, just until it bubbles again, about 2 - 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla and chocolate to the pot, and whisk until the chocolate has melted. Pour the pudding into any kind of tiny cups that you have, such as espresso cups or little ramekins or jars. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of each pudding and place the puddings in the refrigerator to chill for at least a few hours.
Just before serving, whip the remaining ½ cup cream. (You can sweeten it with confectioners' sugar, if you like, though I usually prefer to leave it as is). Spoon a little whipped cream on top of each chocolate pudding.
