ripped from the headlines

can you believe that i haven't been watching law & order obsessively? yeah, neither can i. so this isn't a murder case involving food, but it does involve me surreptitiously copying a recipe out of the best recipe at barnes & noble. this is my favorite recipe for chocolate pudding, and i know multiple people who do own the cookbook (i bought it for my sister a few years ago), i just always forget to write it down somewhere. so this is just me writing it down so i can have it for later. writing it down in more than my shorthand, too:

best chocolate pudding ever
2T cocoa*
2T cornstarch
2/3c sugar
1/8t salt

1c light cream, room temp
3 egg yolks, room temp
2c whole milk, room temp
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled**
1T butter

1. sift together the cocoa, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.

2. whisk in the cream, yolks, and milk. whisk in the chocolate. the chocolate will clump, but that's just the reaction of the melted chocolate to the cooler liquids. the lumps will cook out when you heat the mixture.

3. bring to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat (this is what the best recipe says, but just to be safe i like to do it all at medium), then reduce heat to medium and boil 1 1/2-2 minutes longer, until the pudding has thickened. be sure to give the pudding frequent stirs with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, and you can see how thick the pudding is by sticking the spoon/spatula in and drawing a finger through the pudding that coats the spoon. it should be thick, not runny in any way, and probably if you're wondering if it's the right consistency, you need a little longer. don't overcook it, though, or the pudding will curdle because your egg yolks got too cooked. this is why you cook it over medium heat while stirring: to gently cook the custard until it sets.

4. remove the pan from the stove and stir in the butter until it's completely incorporated. pour the pudding into whatever you're using as a serving dish and cover with plastic wrap - if you press the plastic wrap into the surface of the pudding it will prevent a skin from forming, if you hate the pudding skin.

[serves 4-6]

*if you use valrhona cocoa (available in bulk at whole foods, near the cheeses) you will not be disappointed - valrhona cocoa turns this pudding almost black.

**i like to use callebaut bittersweet, which i think is 64% cacao? anyway, it gives good chocolate flavor, isn't fruity like scharffenberger (do not get me started), and isn't too expensive. also available at whole foods unless you live in tribeca.