Would I normally choose pudding for dessert? No, not when it’s from a box and is kind of rubbery tasting. However, when it’s made from scratch and is silky, smooth, chocolaty and minty, I could eat it every. single. day.
This recipe is from Cooking Light, but in typical fashion, you’d never know it (well, I also topped it with homemade whipping cream which put it over the top!). I couldn’t resist!
This recipe is not difficult to make, it just takes a little patience – unlike the old box of pudding. Trust me, you’ll be glad you put in the effort. This is special enough for a company dinner. Your guests will love you for it!
For the semi-sweet chocolate pieces, I used these Nestle’ Chocolate Mint filled chips. They added a little more minty taste to the pudding, which is super good! But you could use just regular chocolate and it’ll be delicious.
After the pudding is cooked, be sure to lay plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a film from forming. Then refrigerate the bowl.
Ingredients
Preparation
Heat milk over medium-high heat in a small, heavy saucepan to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Remove from heat; add mint. Let stand 15 minutes; strain milk mixture through a sieve into a bowl, reserving milk. Discard solids. Return milk to pan; stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. Return pan to medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk until mixture thickens.
Place egg yolks in a medium bowl; gradually add half of hot milk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add egg mixture to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thick. Remove from heat; add vanilla and chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts. Pour pudding into a bowl; cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap. Chill. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.
Any pudding lovers out there? Give this a try even if you’re on the edge. It’s not hard, and it will turn even a night of leftovers into a meal fit for a king!
With love from my country kitchen,
RefreshHer 
Sounds delicious! I love chocolate and mint together. And yes, for homemade pudding like this I would definitely top it with real whipped cream!
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Whipped cream…touche’!
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It’s a wonderful dish with a beautiful presentation. We were blessed that Mrs C made it for us recently during my recovery from surgery as the perfect finish to a 3-course meal. Yummy!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it, Phyllis! You gave me a good reason to try this new recipe! Why I always do this to guests, I’m not sure! =0
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For those of us without an herb garden handy, where would you find the fresh mint leaves? Would we need to just add mint extract to the milk? Any idea how much extract?
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Hi Alice, I got mint at Kroger. Most large grocery stores carry herbs in the produce department. If you can’t find it I would use about a teaspoon of extract. You’re just wanting to give a light mint flavor to the milk/pudding. Hope it turns out great!
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