Recipe: Say 'Hello' to my Little Friend, aka "Hot" Chocolate Pudding

Fulfilling promises of a recipe from some time ago...

I had a craving for something rich. Brulee? Maybe. Pot de creme? Meh. Chocolate? I ended up with a concoction of what I call "Hot" Chocolate Pudding. I used egg yolks for the pudding, and the egg whites in a pavlova. It was the perfect marriage of dark and rich, and light and sweet.



I even had the perfect ingredient - a lonesome milk chocolate bunny from Purdy's chocolates that I bought on sale on the Tuesday after easter. Yum! Make sure you chop some extra chocolate for nibbling on! :)



Alas, I did make a mistake when preparing the pudding. I forgot to draw off all the foam / floaty proteins and so the top of the pudding wasn't as smooth as I'd liked. I'll be sure to post another recipe later on where I'll detail that.



Ingredients
1 c half & half
150 grams milk chocolate, chopped (or about half of a good-quality easter bunny! :)
3 large egg yolks
3 T white sugar
3/4 t ground cinnamon (or better, a cinnamon stick!)
1/2 t chili powder (gives a nice "warm" spicy note, as opposed to cayenne, which would kick you in the 'buds. . .nice flavour, but not for everyone.)

Method
Heat the half and half with the cinnamon and chili over medium heat just until small bubbles start to form around the edges.

Meanwhile, beat together the white sugar and egg yolks.

When the half and half has just heated to just bubbling, remove from heat and remove cinnamon stick, if using. Cool slightly.

Temper the chocolate by adding the slightly cooled cream to the chocolate and mixing vigorously until the chocolate is melted. Add to the egg yolk mixture and stir well.

Allow to settle overnight in the fridge, or skim off the foam / curdled protein on the top of the mixture before pouring into ramekins.

Bake in a bain marie for 30-40 minutes at 325ºF or just until set. Cool, or enjoy warm. :)



The above recipe made about six individual puddings - I'm sure that if I had remembered to skim off the foam, it would have made about four or five custards instead.

The 'Hello' To my Little Friend reference in the blog title? No, I wasn't talking about the chocolate bunny (although I could have been). I was talking about the brulee torch that I forgot about since I've moved in!

It was a present from my brother and cousin from way back when when I was still in culinary school. Hard to believe that that was almost ten (10!) years ago. Holy cow time flies!

I have to say that my brulee-ing skills have gone downhill. That, and trying to brulee in a rectangular ramekin when you have vivid memories of being burnt by an industrial torch when you were working in a open restaurant kitchen makes it a little difficult. (There were times when I had to go to the back to swear. haha! ha.)

I think this pudding was better without the bruleeing, personally. It was a touch on the sweet side, so leaving it plain was better instead.

It was all enjoyed by M and my dad, surprisingly. :)

Additional photos available at my flickr set.