Directions

Chop the bittersweet chocolate and set it aside. If using chocolate chips, give them a rough chop as well and set aside.

In another bowl, measure and combine the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and pinch of kosher salt. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps. Slowly start adding the milk and keep whisking. At first, it will be a chocolaty paste but will thin out as you add more milk.

Again, lump-free is the goal here. Pour this into a heavy stainless saucepan and begin with the heat on medium/medium-low. Grab both a whisk and a silicone spatula. Cook, constantly whisking, stirring, and scraping the pan (IF it begins to stick). Bring slowly to a boil, and when it begins to boil, the cornstarch will dramatically thicken the pudding. Cook at the low boil for 1-2 minutes. This is necessary to fully ‘bloom’ and hydrolyze the cornstarch so it will do its job and keep the pudding thickened as it cools.

Remove pudding from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces. Stir and/or whisk until smooth. If there are any lumps in your pudding, consider straining the pudding—I did not need to do this step either time that I tested the recipe.

Pour the cooked pudding into a serving bowl and cover with a piece of plastic wrap, flush to the surface of the pudding and refrigerate until chilled, 1-2 hours or longer. (The plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the pudding will keep a ‘skin’ from forming on the top of the pudding.)

To serve: Whip the cream and sweeten it with a couple of tablespoons of confectionary sugar if you like it a bit sweet. Portion the pudding into glass cups/bowls and garnish with whipped cream. You could add a very, very small drop of red food coloring to make pink whipped cream! It is Valentine’s Day, after all. I also garnished with a few toasted almonds and some extra chopped chocolate.