Chocolate Pudding (For Adults)

By Raybird. 
Servings: 8. Non-Vegetarian (Contains egg) 

One of our favourite childhood snacks were those little plastic cups of chocolate pudding. They don't taste very good any more, so we came up with our own version. It's light and creamy with rich dark chocolate and a pinch of our crunchy Sea Salt from Ishka Farms. Use the best dark chocolate you can find for this recipe. Finish it with a handful of crispy granola to really take it over the top.

Ingredients

Good Dark Chocolate, chips or chopped up 2 cups (250 grams)
Milk 1.5 cups (360 grams)
Cream 1 cup (240 grams)
Egg Yolks, medium size 6 each
Brown Sugar 5 tbsp
Ishka Farms Tuticorin Sea Salt 1/4 tsp + More for finishing

Method

1. Combine the milk and cream in a pan and heat on low until simmering. Combine the egg yolks and brown sugar in a bowl and whisk them vigorously for a minute until the sugar has dissolved. Save your egg whites for something else. 

2. Add the dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate), and 1/4 tsp of sea salt to a blender and keep it ready.

3. Once the milk and cream come to a simmer, add a little of it at a time to the egg yolk/sugar mixture while whisking. Do not add it all together or the hot liquid will cook the egg yolks into scrambled eggs. Once you have added all the liquid, pour the mixture back into the pan.

4. Cook the mixture on a very low heat while mixing and scraping the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula. It should be cooked slowly until it starts to thicken. When it's ready it will have the consistency of a medium-thick custard sauce, almost like melted ice cream. If you cook it too fast or on a high flame, the eggs will scramble - which we do not want.

5. Once the egg mixture has reached the right consistency, immediately pour it over the chocolate in the blender. Make sure you close your blender properly and hold the top with a kitchen towel to prevent the hot mixture from spilling out and burning you. The steam from inside might make the lid loose, so be careful. 

6. Blend the mixture until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is perfectly smooth. Pour into a serving bowl or any container and keep it in the refrigerator to set for at least 8-12 hours or overnight. If you dig in too soon it will not be set.

7. Scoop a dollop of the pudding into a bowl, finish with a pinch of sea salt and a sprinkle of crunchy granola on top. Enjoy!