Mom’s Chocolate Pudding

My mother was a good cook. Dinner wasn’t elaborate, but she always put an enjoyable and nutritious meal on the table, even after she came home from a long day at work. But it was the 60s and the 70s, and many of her recipes, tasty as they were, used prepackaged convenience foods. There were things in packets, things in boxes, things in tins…

…but not her chocolate pudding. There were no little square boxes there. It was 100% from scratch and it was fabulous. I can’t think of a luckier place to be than in the kitchen when the time was ripe for licking the spoon and scraping out the corners of the empty pot.

This, without further ado, is my mother’s chocolate pudding recipe, scribbled in pencil on a piece of pink paper. Who she got the recipe from, I’ll never know. But she upped the stakes by using heavy cream, which was clearly, by her notes, not part of the recipe as she received it.

The only change I’ve made is in the chocolate I use. Hershey’s cocoa in the brown can was iconic in those days, and Baker’s was the chocolate that was used by almost everyone for cooking and baking. We were totally ignorant of the horrors of the chocolate industry.

I’m very picky about chocolate. Not because I’m a chocolate snob (although I probably am), but because of the way most commercial brands are produced. It’s estimated that more than 1.5 million children are enslaved on the west coast of Africa, particularly in Ghana and Ivory Coast, where 60% of the world’s chocolate is produced. They’re lured from their homes, parents promised legitimate jobs for their children with promises that they’ll be well cared for and their earnings will be sent home. Others are outrightly kidnapped. These kids are fed just enough to keep them healthy enough to keep picking the cocoa beans. Most of them never see their homes or families again.

It’s a global crisis that keeps profits high for the companies while taking advantage of impoverished people. Although the major chocolate companies have vowed to end the practice, they have not fulfilled that vow. Please spend a little more and buy only slavery-free certified chocolate. It’s easy to see what companies fall into which camp online. Power is in the hands of the consumer. Not only will you be doing your part to end this horrific practice, you’ll also be buying (and eating) superior chocolate.

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Mom’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding‍ ‍

Ingredients:

¼ cup cornstarch

6 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

2 ½ cups milk (half milk, half cream) Note: 1 ¼ cups of each

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons sweet butter

Method:

• Whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium saucepan.

• Add the milk and whisk until smooth, then add in the cream and whisk again.

• Put the pot onto the stove and turn the flame to medium.

• Cook the pudding, whisking constantly, until it boils and large bubbles appear on the surface—about 5 minutes.

• Add the chocolate pieces and keep whisking until the chocolate is completely melted and the pudding is smooth.

• Turn off the stove and stir in the vanilla and the butter.

• Spoon the pudding into individual ramekins or into a large serving bowl. Let it stand until it reaches room temperature and then chill before serving.

Note: Most people immediately cover their puddings with plastic wrap pressed tightly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming on the top. Mom didn’t do that—we loved the chewy chocolate skin!

My favorite way to serve this is in martini glasses, with a dollop of whipped cream and a lemon pirouette cookie jauntily placed to look like a straw.

A piping of vanilla whipped cream on top is always a nice addition.

• Did you make it? Was it fabulous?