![\"mocha2\"](\"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/mocha2.jpg\" "\\"mocha2\\"")
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It’s not Valentine’s Day without chocolate as far as I’m concerned. No other food can match its sensuous pleasure, slowly melting on the tongue and flooding the palate with the rich, dark, almost sinful flavor of cacao.<\/p>\n
We’re talking pudding here, but a pudding unlike any you ever knew in childhood.\u00a0 This is a pudding so dense, so smooth, so deeply chocolate that it\u00a0 bears little resemblance to the bland desserts of the school cafeteria.\u00a0 The addition of top quality bittersweet chocolate and an extra jolt of caffeine from freshly brewed coffee make it a grownup treat, indeed.<\/p>\n
This mocha pudding belongs on the same gastronomic plane as pot de creme or chocolate mousse, but it’s far easier to make and there are no raw egg whites to worry about.\u00a0 It begins as a cocoa-infused pastry cream, which is passed through a sieve, enriched by melted chocolate, and beaten until smooth and glossy.\u00a0 The whole process takes about 30 minutes once you’ve assembled the ingredients and the results couldn’t be more impressive.![\"mochapudding\"](\"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/mochapudding.jpg\" "\\"mochapudding\\"")
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The secret is to use the best cocoa and bittersweet chocolate you can buy.\u00a0 I prefer Valrhona but Scharffen Berger or Guittard would be wonderful, too.<\/p>\n
The recipe was inspired by the chocolate pudding in the terrific cookbook, “Tartine,” by San Francisco bakers Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson (Chronicle Books, 2006).\u00a0 I’ve substituted strong coffee for part of the liquid to develop an extra layer of sophisticated flavor.<\/p>\n
For an elegant presentation, spoon the pudding into little demitasse cups or martini glasses and crown with softly whipped cream,\u00a0 Chocolate-dipped coffee beans, make a clever garnish if you can find them.<\/p>\n
Cupid isn’t likely to present a more tempting dish.<\/p>\n
1\u00bd cups milk
\n\u00bc cup strong brewed coffee
\n\u00bd cup heavy cream
\n\u00bc cup cornstarch
\n\u00be cup sugar
\n3 tablespoons cocoa powder
\n3 large eggs
\n\u00bc teaspoon salt
\n2\u00bd ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
\nWhipped cream for garnish<\/p>\n
Before you begin cooking, set a large, fine-mesh sieve over a\u00a0 heat-proof bowl. Combine the milk, coffee and cream in a heavy, medium saucepan and heat until the mixture just begins to boil.\u00a0 Small bubbles will begin to multiply around the edges and the milk will begin to foam. \u00a0 Remove from heat.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift in cocoa powder and whisk until blended. In\u00a0 a separate bowl, beat eggs with salt until blended. Add eggs to sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.<\/p>\n
Slowly pour half the hot milk mixture into to egg mixture while whisking continuously. Then return the egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk mixture.\u00a0 Return pan to stove and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the milk, eggs and sugar mixture has become very thick. It should register 208 degrees on a candy thermometer, taking about 5 to 7 minutes , depending on how cold the eggs were when you started.<\/p>\n
Immediately pour the cooked pudding through the sieve. Add the chopped chocolate and stir slowly until it melts from the heat of the milk-egg mixture. Blend with an immersion blender for a full 5 minutes until no lumps are visible, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. You also may use a blender, work in small batches, or use a whisk to beat by hand. Take care not to get burned by the hot mixture.<\/p>\n
Immediately, spoon the pudding into cups or bowls, let cool, and serve at room temperature. The pudding will keep for up to four days, wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator\u2013if you don’t eat it all the first night.<\/p>\n
Adapted from ”Tartine,” by Elizabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson (Chronicle Books, 2006)<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s not Valentine’s Day without chocolate as far as I’m concerned. No other food can match its sensuous pleasure, slowly melting on the tongue and flooding the palate with the rich, dark, almost sinful flavor of cacao. We’re talking pudding here, but a pudding unlike any you ever knew in childhood.\u00a0 This is a pudding … Continue reading The ultimate chocolate pudding<\/span>