As I mentioned on this post, this is chocolate pudding week at Lethally Delicious. It started a week ago with chocolate panna cotta, then we had chocolate pots de creme on Tuesday, and finally good old chocolate pudding today for Sweet Melissa Sundays.
This recipe is from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. As you can tell from the odd appearance of my pudding, I had a few problems. I didn't have the 6 ounce ramekins the recipe specifies so I used my 4 ounce ramekins. The recipe didn't instruct us to poke holes in the foil so I didn't. My puddings steamed (or was that the intention?) When I checked them after 40 minutes, they were the ugliest little over cooked, water logged desserts I've ever seen!
However, even though they were a bit curdled, they were tasty once they chilled. I debated making them again but couldn't bear to go through another-gasp-three cups of heavy cream. So promise me you won't make them the way I did when you make them!
Chocolate Pudding
3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 ounces best-quality semisweet (58%) chocolate, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup) (I used 70%)
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Before you start, position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place six 6-ounce ramekins in a 9 x 13-inch roasting pan.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the cream and about half of the sugar to scalding, or until the milk is steaming and tiny bubbles have formed along the edges. Do not boil.
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl. Pour enough scalding cream over the chocolate to cover. Let sit for 5 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Pour the remaining cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
In a large bowl, gently whish together the egg yolks, the remaining half of the sugar, the salt, and vanilla until smooth. Temper the chocolate cream into the yolk mixture, pouring it little by little and whisking all the while. Strain the mixture into a clean pitcher and skim off any bubbles with a spoon.
Pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins. Fill the roasting pan with hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until just set. Begin checking after 45 minutes. When gently shaken, a pudding should no longer look liquidy; it will move as one mass (albeit somewhat jiggly) and register 150 to 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove to a wire rack to cool to room temperature in the water bath. Remove the ramekins from the pan and refrigerate, uncovered, until cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours to overnight before serving.
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl. Pour enough scalding cream over the chocolate to cover. Let sit for 5 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Pour the remaining cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
In a large bowl, gently whish together the egg yolks, the remaining half of the sugar, the salt, and vanilla until smooth. Temper the chocolate cream into the yolk mixture, pouring it little by little and whisking all the while. Strain the mixture into a clean pitcher and skim off any bubbles with a spoon.
Pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins. Fill the roasting pan with hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until just set. Begin checking after 45 minutes. When gently shaken, a pudding should no longer look liquidy; it will move as one mass (albeit somewhat jiggly) and register 150 to 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove to a wire rack to cool to room temperature in the water bath. Remove the ramekins from the pan and refrigerate, uncovered, until cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours to overnight before serving.
11 comments:
My puddings looked exactly like yours. It was not at all what I was expecting either. I also used a smaller ramekin (and I halved the recipe). I know I overcooked them slightly. I would like to give them another try. Thanks for hosting!
Leslie, I'm sorry the recipe gave you trouble. Mine weren't exactly pretty, but they tasted good. I have to say, they do look a little sad when you see that lovely photo of the pots de creme right underneath. I guess I will try that one next time I want a creamy chocolate dessert.
Thanks for hosting this week! Sorry you had issues with yours.
I wasn't expecting much from this one but loved it. Thanks again!
Hooray for pudding week. I will eat ugly pudding and beautiful pudding...I don't discriminate in the land of deliciousness
Too bad it didn't work for you. I didn't bother trying after our tweets. However, from reading your post, I suddenly remembered the butterscotch pudding we made for SMS a while back. My looked at my notes and I did a couple things differently. Use half milk, half cream. Also, I skipped the alu foil covering. Although I didn't add this to my post, I'm pretty sure I removed them from the water bath once they were cooked to avoid overcooking. I have 2 egg yolks sitting in the fridge. I might give it a try using my changes. Thanks for hosting though!!
Three different chocolate puddings - you're really dedicated! Especially since pudding's a bit tougher to share out.
Hi, Leslie: Thanks for hosting. Mine look just like yours! I decided to cover them up with whipped cream and a strawberry. I thought they tasted just okay, not really what I was expecting.
Sorry you had trobule with this one! At least you could enjoy them when they were chilled. I still think they look nice in this picture.
Sorry that they didn't turn out, but at least it seems like you know where it may have gone wrong. Thanks for hosting regardless!
Thanks so much for hosting as this was a great one. Sorry you had some trouble with it. I think that mine turned out OK because my foil wasn't wrapped too tightly so some of the steam was able to escape. Your picture still looks pretty darn good though :)
I'm sorry the recipe gave you trouble Leslie. It's so frustrating, and I know you were bummed about it. I'm glad the pudding was still tasty - at the end of the day that's what matters, right? :)
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