America’s Test Kitchen: Homemade pudding is the perfect way to end your meal

When you’re searching for something sweet after lunch or dinner, homemade chocolate pudding will become your go-to dessert.

It’s important to note that homemade chocolate pudding can lack flavor if you don’t use enough chocolate, and it can even develop a grainy texture if there’s too much cocoa butter. But by using a modest amount of bittersweet chocolate paired with unsweetened cocoa and espresso powder, you can achieve maximum chocolate flavor.

Milk, heavy cream and an egg yolk provide the silky smooth finish you’d expect for this luscious dessert.

Small-Batch Creamy Chocolate Pudding

Serves 2

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon espresso powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon table salt

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 large egg yolk

3/4 cup whole milk

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces

1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

1. Stir together vanilla and espresso powder in a bowl; set aside. Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt together in a large saucepan. Whisk in cream and yolk until fully incorporated, making sure to scrape the corners of the saucepan. Whisk in milk until incorporated.

2. Place saucepan over medium heat; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbling over the entire surface, 4 to 6 minutes. Cook 30 seconds longer, remove from heat, add butter and chocolate, and whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Whisk in vanilla mixture.

3. Pour pudding through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Press lightly greased parchment paper against the surface of the pudding and place in the refrigerator to cool, at least 1 1/2 hours or up to two days. Whisk pudding briefly and serve.

(For 25 years, home cooks have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. The family of brands — which includes Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen Kids — offers reliable recipes for cooks of all ages and skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)

©2023 America’s Test Kitchen. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.