Real cream, good chocolate, and cocoa powder make for the best homemade chocolate pudding. Perfect for a tasty snack or fancy dessert.
- Prep Time:
5 mins - Cook Time:
10 mins - Total Time:
15 mins *
* Plus chilling time.
This is chocolate pudding. Real homemade chocolate pudding. Forget about the stuff that comes from a boxed mix or that is pre-packaged in plastic cups with a shelf life of forever. This is the way chocolate pudding was meant to be – made with heavy cream, good quality chocolate, and dark cocoa powder.
This will make you swoon with its deep chocolate flavor and creamy texture. It will make you want to lick every last bit of chocolate from the pan even though it is 9:00 am and you just ate breakfast and you had made this to share.
Use the best ingredients for the best chocolate pudding
The ingredient list is very basic –
- sugar
- cornstarch
- cocoa powder
- semi-sweet chocolate
- heavy whipping cream
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
However, using the best chocolate and cocoa powder you can find will make all the difference in this recipe. If you have been saving the “good stuff” for something special, this is the time to use it.
My favorite cocoa powder is from Valrhona. It is what most professional bakeries use and is well worth the extra cost. For the chocolate, I use Callebaut 53% dark chocolate callets. Even though, the label says “dark”, the 53% means it’s a semi-sweet chocolate. The callets are basically chocolate chips instead of a large block or bar eliminating the need to chop it.
How to make pudding
The cooking technique could not be easier. It is all cooked in one pan on the stove top – no double boiler required. There are no eggs to worry about curdling and, thus, no need for straining to get a smooth texture. The key is to constantly whisk the mixture as it’s cooking.
The best part is that chocolate pudding is so versatile. My kids love it as an after school snack. My sister serves it for dessert at her dinner parties. Serve it in bowls or serve it in goblets – just serve it soon.
Chocolate Pudding
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Real cream, good chocolate, and cocoa powder make for the best homemade chocolate pudding. Perfect for a tasty snack or fancy dessert.
Ingredients
For the pudding
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I use Callebaut)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For serving
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Chocolate cookie crumbs, optional
Instructions
For the pudding
- Mix dry ingredients. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Whisk in wet ingredients. Add cream, milk, and vanilla to dry ingredients. Whisk until cornstarch is completely dissolved. It is alright if the cocoa powder is not completely dissolved at this point.
- Cook. Place saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Mix in chocolate. Add chocolate, and cook, whisking until chocolate is melted, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter until melted.
- Chill. Pour pudding into dessert cups and refrigerate until completely set, 1-2 hours.
For serving
- Whip. Whip the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form.
- Top. Spoon whipped cream onto pudding (See Notes).
- Garnish. Sprinkle cookie crumbles over whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
- To prevent a skin from forming on top of the pudding as it cools, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding before putting it in the refrigerator.
- If you want to pipe the cream on top of the pudding, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe cream onto pudding.
- Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.
Warapa P. says
Can I whip this pudding to make it lighter to frost the cake? It taste is not too heavy as ganache so that I think it might good to frost chocolate cake but I want it more flufier.
Taming of the Spoon says
I have never tried using pudding as cake frosting. I don’t think it is stiff enough and may just slide off the sides of the cake.
Cheryl says
Had you tried the Martha Stewart recipe and decided to cut back on heavy whipping cream and butter for a particular reason? I’m curious because I have a toddler son with eating challenges. One of the only foods he tolerates is chocolate pudding, so i’m intentionally looking for a high-fat homemade recipe to increase his calorie intake. Martha’s recipe calls for more cream and butter (yay! more calories!), but if you cut them down for a specific reason (consistency, perhaps?), I’m curious to know why. Thanks!
Taming of the Spoon says
Both recipes actually use the same total amount of cream. The Martha Stewart recipe doesn’t make it clear in the ingredient list that 1 1/4 cups of the cream is used in the pudding and the remaining 1 cup is whipped for the topping. It’s stated in the recipe instructions but you have to read the recipe all the way through to see it. When I was re-typing the recipe, I decided to make it clear that the 2 1/4 cups of cream was divided so I listed the amounts separately. Regarding the butter, I reduced the butter from 1 1/2 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon because I never saw much difference when I used the extra 1/2 tablespoon and always found it easier to measure 1 tablespoon.
If you’re looking to increase the overall calories of this pudding, you might want to consider adding some dry milk powder. When my kids were younger (and were pickier eaters), I was always looking for ways to increase their calcium intake. I would often add 1 cup of dry milk powder to the dry ingredients before adding the cream and milk. I’m not sure how many calories the milk powder would add since I was more concerned with the amount of calcium but you could check the labels of different brands to see calories. I found the dry milk powder didn’t affect the consistency or taste of the pudding. My kids could never tell the difference between when I added it and when I didn’t. Hope that helps.
nellem says
just made it, tastes so good. i put only 1.5 tablespoon sugar, teaspoon butter, less chocolate, it is light. wonderful. my favorite now.
Taming of the Spoon says
I’m so glad you liked the recipe and so glad you were able to lighten it up! Might have to try your version out.
JM says
These are one of the best looking chocolate puddings on the internet and I say that with all truthfulness. They are in the refrigerator setting as I type this. I made it in 3 flavors (butterscotch, white chocolate and dark chocolate). For the dark chocolate, I tried it with Hershey’s and Callebaut’s cocoa powder but used regular dark chocolate for both and it turned out amazing. I cannot imagine how glorious they would be with really good quality dark chocolate. Had a taste of each as I made them. Positively delightful!!
Taming of the Spoon says
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! It’s one of my favorites. Thank you for coming back to share your comments.
Mel says
The photos are great but tell me, how did you get to make those shot glasses look perfectly filled with the pudding ? When you say “pour into dessert cups…”, did you use a ladle ? a pastry bag ? I made this dessert yesterday ( it was great – its already gone – no more left) but the glasses I used had lots of chocolate stain drippings and had this amateur look to them LOL………Thank you
Taming of the Spoon says
For the shot glasses, I think I used a small spoon and just put in a small amount at a time. If you are filling a lot of small glasses for a large party or something, I would suggest using a pastry bag. If I am filling larger dessert bowls or ramekins (and don’t need them to be photo ready), I either use a ladle or pour directly from the saucepan. So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Johnnell says
Very good! This is the first time I’ve made chocolate pudding from scratch, and i was delighted with the outcome. I’m interested in experimenting with recipes in the future – e.g., using milk chocolate, white chocolate, Nutella…
Taming of the Spoon says
I am so glad you liked this recipe. I have never tried making pudding with white chocolate or Nutella but those are great ideas! I’ll have to keep those in mind.
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
I’m in sweetness heaven, this looks perfect for a treat!
Taming of the Spoon says
It’s perfect anytime. The hardest part is waiting for the pudding to chill.
dina says
this looks so amazing!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thank you. I could eat chocolate pudding every day.