I originally made this pudding as an ingredient for Ovenly’s decadent Brooklyn Blackout Cake frosting, but it’s a fantastic standalone dessert and is very simple! It’s incredibly rich, so don’t be afraid to dole out small portions (especially if you’re serving it as dessert after a heavy dinner). There’s lots of opportunity to get creative with your presentation – celebrating a birthday? Top with sprinkles and pop a candle in! Dinner party? Shave some dark chocolate, coarsely chop some nuts, and have some whipped cream on hand! Serving crazed chocolate fans like me? Dust a little cocoa powder and chocolate shavings and (ready for this) chocolate sprinkles! 

Salted Dark Chocolate Pudding

Recipe via Ovenly Cookbook

Yield: about 4 servings (roughly ½ cup per serving)

Notes:

Great dessert to make in advance as it needs ample time to cool and set. I portioned out the pudding and then let it set, but you could easily put it in a larger bowl to set and portion it out as you serve! Be aware the pudding may sweat a bit as it comes to room temperature. If this bothers you, give it a quick stir before serving, just note you’ll lose the smooth texture on top. 

The dark Dutch-process cocoa powder will be the trickiest ingredient of this recipe. I can only find mine at specialty grocers or baking supplies stores. I normally combine about half dark Dutch-process cocoa with half black cocoa (something like this or this) to get the super dark colour. I haven’t tried it with regular cocoa powder, so no guarantees if you do! 

Pudding Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk, divided into ¼ cup and 1 ¾ cups (I used a combination of 2% and whipping cream, roughly 1 ½ cup 2% and ½ cup whipping cream)
• 2 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 ounces (roughly ⅓ cup) chopped dark chocolate. Go as dark as you like – I went for 80%
• 3 Tbsp dark Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ tsp salt

Toppings Ideas:

• Whipped cream
• Chopped nuts
• Sprinkles
• Shaved dark chocolate

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk ¼ cup of whole milk with the cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a small to medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the remaining milk (1 ¾ cups), sugar, dark chocolate, dark Dutch-process cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk until all of the chocolate has melted and the ingredients have evenly combined.
3. With the medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk the cornstarch mixture into the chocolate mixture until fully incorporated.
4. Reduce the heat to low. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, constantly mix until the mixture comes to a simmer. It will very slowly begin to thicken. Keep mixing until it becomes thick enough to coat the back of the spatula/spoon and very slowly runs off (see photo below). It took me roughly 15 minutes of stirring over low heat to get to point.
5. Remove from heat and portion out into 4 serving bowls of your choosing and allow to come to room temperature.
6. Cover serving bowls tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set. This step took my pudding a couple of hours, but feel free to leave overnight!
7. Top with your preferred topping or leave as-is and enjoy!

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