Wellness Recipe: Dark Chocolate Pudding

Wholesome chocolate pudding for Valentine’s Day.

So how is it that chocolate pudding is good for you? This is made with wholesome ingredients — including local milk — and good quality chocolate. Enjoying the occasional dessert is a nice reward to yourself and of course, Valentine’s Day is a wonderful excuse for indulging yourself with chocolate. Not that some of us need an excuse…

This is the chocolate pudding recipe I prepared on today’s WLEX-TV’s 12:30 program. It’s also the featured recipe on the Washington Post website, www.sprig.com. You can view the cooking demo by going to the home page of the station at www.wlextv.com. Click on ‘News’ and Wellness Cooking with Susie Quick. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Pudding

This wholesome pudding is incredible served warm but it’s also good chilled. For a richer, darker chocolate pudding, use the bittersweet chocolate. Top it with a small spoonful of whipped cream. It is wonderfully rich but you can sub 2% milk (but no less as it will not bind together properly) though that seems a bit silly when you have this much chocolate. We used a local milk – Rebekah Grace brand from the Schrock family dairy in Russellville, KY.

Serves 4

2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped,
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional

1. Combine 1/2 cup milk in a 1-pint jar with sugars, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Screw lid on tightly and shake vigorously until blended (a few lumps are okay).

2. Heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat. When small bubbles appear on side of pan, pour cocoa mixture into saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking, until pudding thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla.

3. Spoon pudding into 4 heat-proof cups. Serve hot, warm, or chilled with whipped cream, if desired.