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    Wednesday, March 28, 2012

    Chocolate Pudding Extraordinaire-From Alex Guarnaschelli

    Chocolate Pudding with Almonds
    Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli
    Serves:
    6 to 8 shallow coffee cups
    Currently Food TV in New Zealand is stripping Alex’s Day Out.
    Alex Guarnaschelli is a Chef in New York and features in several Food network shows as a judge, obviously well respected.
    I love her food.
    This pudding is a prime example.
    It is Thursday when the grandchildren come for dinner and this will be a real treat for them. If you were making for adults I’d bump up the rum.
    It is very rich and the cream and the salty nuts on top are just perfect.
    Well balanced.

    Ingredients
    Pudding:
    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
    1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
    1/2 cup warm water
    1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
    1 cup heavy cream
    1 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
    3 tablespoons cornstarch
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 teaspoon dark rum



    Topping
    Whipped cream:
    1/2 cup heavy cream
    1 tablespoon powdered sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract


    Almond topping:
    4 tablespoons canola oil
    1/2 cup slivered almonds
    Kosher salt

    Pudding:
    In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, salt and warm water.
    Whisk to blend and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

    Remove from the heat and
    stir in the chocolate, 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup of the milk.
    Stir to blend and bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer on low heat.

    Meanwhile, in a small bowl,
    combine the cornstarch and the remaining 1/4 cup of milk
    until the mixture is smooth.
    Stir the cornstarch into the simmering chocolate mixture
    and continue cooking it over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon,
    until the mixture thickens, 3 to 5 minutes.
    From time to time, use a whisk to blend the pudding
    and assure that it is not sticking to the bottom or sides and scorching as it cooks.
    Remove from the heat.
    Taste and add the vanilla and rum.
    Pour the pudding into a large bowl (or, if preferred, individual coffee cups) and cover tightly with plastic wrap so a skin doesn't form on top of the pudding.
    The plastic wrap should directly touch the top of the pudding in the bowl or cups.
    Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

    Whipped cream:
    In a medium bowl whisk the cream until thick.
    Whisk in the sugar and vanilla until blended.
    Taste for sweetness and refrigerate until ready to use.

    Almond topping:
    When ready to serve, heat the oil in a medium skillet over low heat.
    When the oil begins to smoke lightly,
    add the almonds. 

    Cook them, stirring, from time to time, until they turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
    Use a slotted spoon to transfer them from the skillet to a paper towel
    or a kitchen towel to drain off excess oil.
    Season with salt, to taste.

    Remove the pudding from the refrigerator,
    discard the plastic wrap and sprinkle with the almonds.
    Top with dollops of the whipped cream or serve the cream on the side.
    Serve immediately.

    3 comments:

    Carole said...

    Lovely use of chocolate. It would be super if you linked this post in to Food on Friday : Chocolate

    Ps As I am commenting on things today I am reminding people that if you turn off your word verification stuff people will find it much easier to comment on your posts. Give it a go!
    To help you here is how you do it:
    You need to go to the old Blogger interface - on your dashboard look up to top right, click the little wheel and it will give you the old interface as an option. Click that. You will see a big blue button - don't click that - click the one 3 along to the right - settings.

    Then click the comments tab - scroll down to the question "Show word verification for comments?" and click no.
    That will sort it. But you do have to click the yellow save settings button at the bottom.

    To go back to the new interface just click the blue " try the updated blogger interface" at the top next to your email address.

    There - that's my good deed for the day!

    So So Simple said...

    Thanks Carole for your comments.
    I will link it into Food on Friday
    Yes I have put the word verification on as I was getting lots of spam from idiots who just try to get one to go to their sites. Usually selling something.
    Ill take it off again and see what happens
    Cheers
    Gilli

    Carole said...

    Good luck with not having word verification - I have had almost no issues.

    Thanks for linking in. Cheers