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Chocolate

Chocolate Pudding

by:
April  8, 2011
4
7 Ratings
  • Serves 3 to 4
Author Notes

For months, Alex Talbot, one half of the duo behind the ingenious blog, Ideas In Food, has been telling me I had to try the chocolate pudding from their new book. The entire pudding is assembled, and the eggs cooked and thickened, in a blender. The texture, spun by tapioca flour (rather than cornstarch) is otherworldly, he promised.

Talbot’s and Aki Kamozawa's recipe satisfied every wish. Merrill compared its richness to Italian hot chocolate. Another food52er described its texture as having the bouncy elasticity of diner pudding. It was sleek and charming, not at all daunted by the demands of satisfying childhood memories —Amanda Hesser

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Ingredients
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces 66% cacao dark chocolate, chopped
  • Unsweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Directions
  1. Put the egg yolks and tapioca flour in a blender and blend on low speed until a light-colored paste forms.
  2. Combine the sugar, cream, milk, salt, and vanilla in a saucepan set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Turn the blender containing the egg and tapioca mixture back on low. Quickly and carefully, pour the hot milk mixture into the blender and increase the speed to medium. The heat will cook the egg yolks and allow the tapioca to thicken to the consistency of thick mayonnaise.
  3. With the blender running, add the chocolate in stages so it is emulsified into the pudding. When all the chocolate is added, strain the pudding into a serving bowl (or 3 to 4 serving bowls) and let it cool to room temperature before transferring to the refrigerator to cool completely. Top with whipped cream if you like.
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Recipe by: Amanda Hesser

Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.

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23 Reviews

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JoanB January 2, 2022
The flavor of this pudding was divine. Deep, creamy chocolate. I did not get the consistency as thick as I would have liked; it was a little soupy - but chocolate soup isn’t a bad thing! Reading other comments, perhaps whipping the eggs and tapioca first by hand will help. My large Ninja blender was not ideal for that step in the recipe, but was fine for the rest of the stages.
Rachel S. November 24, 2020
We have a failsafe chocolate pudding recipe in our family, but turned to this when we found ourselves out of cornstarch. I followed the ingredients and method to the letter, and this version may well replace our old recipe entirely! I second the review that mentioned it as similar to spoonable fudge - it’s velvety, rich, and dense(!) in the most pleasant way. The flavor was also deeply chocolatey, balanced, and not overly sweet. I’m not sure why it is only rated at 4 stars, so hopefully my rating bumps it up to 5 (which it deserves)!
Amanda H. November 24, 2020
So glad to hear this!!
Basil October 1, 2020
Can I substitute tapioca flour with arrowroot?
cpc October 1, 2020
Why not just try and let us know?
Ashley F. September 4, 2017
I just made this and the pudding never set up. I know I got the measurements right, and I used tapioca flour. Any suggestions?
Amanda H. September 4, 2017
My only thought, and I'm not sure this is right, is that maybe you didn't bring the liquid to a full boil before pouring? I can't think of any other explanation because, say the tapioca flour didn't work, the egg yolks still should help it set up at least partially.
Jona @. November 3, 2015
I love this recipe because I love chocolate pudding, and the fact that this recipe is so fast amazes me. An absolute favourite
http://assortedbites.com/2015/11/03/fast-chocolate-pudding/

And the picture is so tempting
cyd April 26, 2015
This was great, and I used a food processor because I don't have a blender. Light and creamy, chocolatey but not too sweet. Thanks again!
Amanda H. April 26, 2015
Really glad you liked it!
cpc October 7, 2014
I made this using nonfat milk in place of the heavy cream and whole milk and it was fantastic. The texture is so silky smooth. It's a great way to get calcium into my kids!
rederin March 18, 2012
The flavor of this pudding is fantastic. I didn't have my thinking cap on when I made it, so added the chocolate before I blended. It still turned out great, but was more the consistency of mousse. I am not complaining! I will try again following the instructions. ;) Oh, and I couldn't find tapioca flour. Instead, I used quick cooking tapioca. I conducted a very cursory online investigation, and determined this was an all right thing to do. If anyone else has comments on the tapioca issue, I'd be interested to hear it.
Shipper March 12, 2012
Hi. I am Dairy Free. Can I use canned coconut milk (thicker than refrigerated coconut milk) to use as the heavy cream? (cant use say tofu or nuts, either, btw). So...will that work? Thanks.
Teri.stein March 10, 2012
This didn't work for me at all - I couldn't get it to emulsify. I used my vitamin at a setting of five - too slow? Too fast? I ended up with a delicious tasting custard but no pudding. What do you think went wrong?
Teri.stein March 10, 2012
That would be my vitamix - thank you, autocorrect...
Amanda H. March 10, 2012
Sounds like you did it correctly. When you say it didn't emulsify, do you mean it split or separated? Did you chill it before eating? It shouldn't get as thick as regular pudding -- should be more silky and light. Let me know what yours was like.
jblock March 7, 2012
What kind of strainer?
Amanda H. March 27, 2012
Sorry for the slow response! A fine mesh strainer -- fine enough to catch any tiny bits.
Matilda L. October 26, 2011
I tried this last night and the method works like a charm--the pudding thickened exactly as described and looks identical to the photos here. I've never liked cornstarch puddings much and eggy ones were custards, not puddings to me, so this tapioca one sounded intriguing. I'd say the tapioca was key--every recipe that calls for cornstarch calls for dissolving it in a little liquid first, then boiling it with the other liquid for a minute or two. These recipes also call for more cornstarch, as much as 1/4 cup--I wouldn't sub one for the other, especially in this recipe. The final product is much stiffer than chocolate puddings I made in the past--a colleague described it as "spoonable fudge".
Amanda H. October 26, 2011
Thrilled to hear you like it!
SugarDumplin' April 14, 2011
I tried to make this recipe but I didn't have any tapioca flour. I substituted cornstarch instead, mixed the heck out of it, but it never thicken up. I'd like to try the recipe again. Any thoughts on what I might have gone wrong?
ejm December 6, 2011
Sugar - I think you need to stick with the tapioca flour for this method. Cornstarch needs heat longer and probably higher than this recipe will give it I think to thicken up.
Soozll April 8, 2011
The sea salt in the ingredient list reads "1/2 cup teaspoon fine sea salt"