Ingredients
Units
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or chips that melt)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a glass or microwave resistant medium bowl mix milk, cocoa powder, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. It will not completely integrate and that is fine.Â
- Microwave it on high for 1 minute.Â
- Take out the bowl and whisk the mixture until smooth. Nothing will have happened in terms of thickness, but the mixture will be properly incorporated.Â
- Cook it for 1-minute spurts, whisking well in between, until a layer is formed on top that will wrinkle if you touch it. It may take about 3 rounds.Â
- Whisk it until it’s all smooth. You will notice that it’s getting thicker.Â
- Change to 30-second spurts. You will see that the layer becomes thicker every time you take the bowl out of the microwave and it might start to thicken more on the edges.Â
- Simply whisk vigorously until it’s all creamy and smooth.Â
- After this happens it takes about 2 more rounds of the microwave.Â
- It takes me 5-6 minutes to achieve the consistency I like, which is similar to thick-ish honey. The mixture will thicken a lot after it’s refrigerated (See Notes, below)
- Take the bowl out, immediately add the chopped chocolate and vanilla and whisk until smooth.Â
- Cover the surface of the pudding quickly with a piece of plastic (freezer sheets or plastic wrap) making sure it is touching the whole surface. This is important because it will prevent a thick layer of dried pudding to form on top.Â
- Let cool down until lukewarm and refrigerate for several hours. I leave it overnight.Â
- Take it out, whisk it again and distribute between jars or bowls.Â
- You can also do this before refrigerating but you need to cover all containers with plastic. It’s more laborious, so I divide between bowls right before serving.Â
- Decorate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings if you want and serve.Â
Notes
- Time: It takes several minutes to fully thicken in the microwave. But this will vary according to how cold the milk was, how shallow or not the bowl is and how your microwave cooks.Â
- Type of bowl: shallower bowls have a larger bottom surface than deep, narrow ones, so the pudding is cooked faster. It does need to have high sides so you can whisk comfortably.
- Halving or doubling the recipe: you can make half of this recipe if feeding 1 or 2 people. Be careful because the cooking times are much shorter. If you double it, it will take longer.
- Chocolate: good quality chocolate always helps not only in flavor but also in texture.Â
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Refrigeration time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Microwave
- Cuisine: International
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4
- Calories: 237
- Sugar: 35.4 g
- Sodium: 635.6 mg
- Fat: 6.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.3 g
- Protein: 5.3 g
- Cholesterol: 12.2 mg