The GFCF Recipe Experience: Chocolate Pudding

Did you ever have one of those weeks where you had every intention of getting some things done, and then life intervened? Well, last week was one of those weeks. I had every intention of getting this posted up, then things just, literally, went up in smoke. While we are by all accounts having a mild wildfire season in the Northern Rockies, we have had just enough activity to keep me busy in support of the forests managing the wildfires. Not to mention dealing with the usual domestic issues, like a three year old who should be nicknamed F5 tornado the way she destroys things, and the occasional cranky, anal neighbor. All this made last week just a little bit chaotic and left little time to get things posted.

Yet all of that seems to make this post more appropriate, since when life intervenes like that, you need something to, well, take you away. Remember the commercial from the 1980s, where this woman is having the most chaotic day of her life and then, exasperated, she says "Calgon, take me away!" and she's instantly transformed into a decadent soaking bath away from all the chaos? Well, no bath here, but, in my opinion, something foodwise that could be just as decadent - chocolate pudding.

Growing up, the pudding I enjoyed came from the same place as most kids - Jello. And for my kids, we have bought the GFCF pudding made by Zen Soy, which my kids love but is quite expensive for what you get. As it turns out, though, pudding is really simple to make from scratch. The pudding I made is based on a recipe I found by Elise at Simply Recipes. As Elise shows in her post, this is a great recipe to make with the kids, provided you have enough spoons so they can all lick the bowl. And while we used soy milk in our recipe, I think this would be even better with almond milk.

The end result? Pure decadence for the most chaotic of days.

Chocolate pudding, take me away!





Chocolate Pudding
based on a recipe by Elise at Simply Recipes.

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups CF milk (you may need to adjust this depending on the milk you use)
1 large egg
4 ounces CF semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whisk the sugar, cocoa powder, and cornstarch together in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in the milk, then bring the mixture to a boil. While whisking constantly, boil the mixture until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a heatproof bowl, beat the egg lightly, then slowly add in the hot mixture, whisking constantly. Ass the chocolate chips, and whisk until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour evenly into four 6 oz. ramekins or cups, and cover with wax paper if you do not want a skin on top. Place into the refrigerator and chill until cold, at least 2 - 3 hours.

NOTE: Since I have more than four mouths to feed, I ended up doubling this recipe without any problem.