I often have a craving for chocolate pudding.  I don’t keep boxes of mix on hand, so I make my own.  It’s easy: mix cornstarch and cold milk, heat in microwave, stirring every thirty seconds or so, until the mixture is thick and just starts boiling, and then dumping in a large amount of chocolate chips and stirring frantically until they are melted. It’s good, but has an annoying tendency to get a little gritty when it cools.   It’s good (especially when hot), but not perfect.

This afternoon, I wanted pudding, but could not find chips.  Instead, I mixed cocoa powder, sugar, and a little salt with the cornstarch, then added the milk. It took a minute or so longer to get the mixture thoroughly smooth.  It was a little thicker than usual, but not by much.  I then heated it as normal.  When the mixture was done, I mixed in a little butter and some vanilla.

Yum.  It was not quite as chocolate as usual (which can be fixed by adding more cocoa next time), but the texture was amazingly smooth.  I realize that it is not quite as smooth as making a chocolate custard with eggs; on the other hand, it’s a lot easier.

I can see making up a lot of this to have on hand as a mix.  I will need to figure out actual measurements — my usual method is “dump some of a in, followed by some of b,” which I recognize as being less than optimal.

I don’t cook, much, but I do like figuring out new recipes, especially for sweet things.

I wonder what a buttermilk chocolate pudding would taste like…