I am a lover of all puddings and few things are as comforting as homemade chocolate
pudding. I am often repelled by the appearance of some of these “scary” desserts that
adults concoct for Halloween so I thought about just putting a “ghostly” topping of
whipped cream on these pudding glasses to please both children and adults on
Halloween. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did while testing in our kitchen!
And for a pick of the week read, check out our most recent book review on Ruth Reichl’s short book, For you Mom, finally, featuring some of the stories and scary recipes that made her the culinary and literary genius that brought us Gourmet Magazine and so many other great books.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup of 2 Tbsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
1 large egg
4 ounces semi-sweet high quality dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate like Caillebaut or Valhrona
4 tablespoons of high quality cocoa powder
Four 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups
Preparation:
Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan with the milk. Continue whisking while turning on to medium flame until the edges begin to a boil. Then use wooden spatula stiring until pudding is thick, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and continue stiring.
Immediately beat the egg lightly in a medium, heat-proof bowl, such as a hard plastic or ceramic mixing bowl. Very gradually add the hot chocolate mixture to the egg (tempering), whisking constantly. Whisk in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the mixture is smooth.
Pour the pudding into the ramekins or custard cups. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.
For the whipped cream, see how to whip cream or you can always pick up a canister of ready made whipped cream if you’re in a pinch.
Start your tower of whipped cream at the base and dispense upward so that the whipped cream resembles a ghost like figure perched at the top of the pudding. Decorate with sprinkles or chocolate syrup.
