The things that end up on this blog surprise me sometimes, Chocolate Pudding? Where did that come from? I've never made chocolate pudding from scratch, but now I have and here it is. And I'll just say this is hands down the best chocolate pudding I've ever had. The only pudding I ever made was waaay back when I was a kid, and that was with Jello instant pudding mix, so this is a rather large leap from those days. But not as large as you might think, the pudding comes together really quickly and before you know it you're licking spoons and not wanting to waste one little incredibly delicious glob.

The last time I had chocolate pudding was probably a few years ago, and it would have been a pre-made-dairy-section container whole foods thing, or possibly Trader Joe's, regardless pudding has not been in our home for a long long time. Too long I've learned.

I made this last night so this is how it looks the next day, chilled, not as pretty as fresh but night photos are problematic with the absence of sun.

I think what really made this pudding extra good was using the freshly chopped dark chocolate rather than a chocolate powder, if you like semi or bitter sweet the way I do, you will love this. I used a 72% dark chocolate and it was perfect. This recipe makes 6 servings (at about 4 ounces each) which is a lot of pudding for Jeff and I, but to cut the recipe in half would make 3 servings and that's no fun, so we'll just have to live with eating chocolate pudding for dessert this week!

Enjoy, this is super easy to make! Recipe below.

Chocolate Pudding
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Robert Steinberg)

1/4 cup (30 grams) cornstarch
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups (705 ml) whole milk
6 ounces (170 grams) 72% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler or large stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of simmering water (or double boiler). Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients. Continue to stir and use a whisk as necessary if lumps begin to form. After 15 to 20 minutes (I had my flame on medium-high so it was more than ready in 15 minutes), as the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate and stir to dissolve. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Strain through a fine-mesh strainer if desired, it's really not necessary but might give a smoother texture, I think it's plenty smooth as is. Pour or ladle into 6 individual dishes.

Deb says to put plastic wrap directly on top of pudding to avoid pudding skin, but I didn't do that, just wrapped the dish and it didn't skin at all, I'm not sure why that didn't happen. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.