Chocolate Pudding

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  The point is the first time I tried a pudding recipe, I ended up with Chocolate Soup.  No, I did not post it.  I obviously failed in that execution.  This time I tried a different recipe.  One from Tyler Florence.  The recipe used corn starch to tighten it up.  What was cool to me was the chemical reaction that caused the pudding to thicken (I do not know what the reaction is called).  But you cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly.  Then, after 2 1/2 minutes or so, the combination of ingredients thicken all of a sudden.

Really cool to see it happen.

Recipe
Chocolate Pudding (Adapted from Tyler Florence):

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup natural cocoa powder
• 5 Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup whipping cream

Directions
Put 1 1/2 cups of the milk, the sugar, and the cocoa in a nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer, over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of the milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla in a bowl. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat whisking constantly, until the pudding comes to a full boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, add the Hershey Kisses and continue whisking until thick, about 2 or 3 minutes more.

Pour the pudding into 4 small ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight until set.