Homemade Chocolate Pudding Recipe
Baking from scratch and making homemade desserts has always been a love of mine. When I started this blog I hoped that I could share that love with you and show you how easy and economical it is. Homemade chocolate pudding is one of the best examples of that.
Not to mention better for you as well. Not better for you as in “stuff yourself with homemade cakes and puddings because it’s homemade” better for you. (Even though you may want to after trying this chocolate pudding.)
It’s better for you in that you’ll know what’s in it. There won’t be any ingredients that you can’t pronounce in this homemade chocolate pudding recipe.
Baking or making homemade desserts from scratch isn’t hard, it’s just a matter of taking things one step at a time. Always read through the recipe at least once all the way through before you start and mentally imagine the steps in your head. This will save you a lot of time, effort, and frustration in the long run.
Have your ingredients measured out ahead of time to save yourself some confusion while mixing the recipe. I’ve decided to do more tutorials this year to help beginner bakers become acquainted with baking from scratch and making homemade desserts.
Veteran bakers, any words of wisdom on a tutorial recipe to help beginner bakers would be much appreciated. Leave your tips and words of encouragement in the comment section.
Let’s get started with the first tutorial recipe of the year. All you have to do is make homemade chocolate pudding once to get the feel of it. After that, chocolate pudding is a breeze!
First, read the ingredients and instructions and get acquainted with the chocolate pudding recipe. Measure out all your ingredients. Place the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt in a heavy-duty saucepan.
Whisk the ingredients together. Take the butter and vanilla and place it near the stove so it’s measured out and ready when you need it.
After whisking the ingredients together you may see clumps in the mixture, they are cocoa clumps. Take the back of a kitchen tablespoon and press the large clumps out.
With a whisk in one hand, slowly pour the milk into the pan while whisking.
Place the pan on a burner turned to low to medium heat and whisk the mixture slowly. Why low to medium heat ? Your chocolate pudding has to thicken SLOWLY. This is where you need a little patience. I have a gas stove that doesn’t have markings on the knobs for low, medium or high heat like an electric stove would. I start the chocolate pudding out on low heat and if need be turn the flame up a little more to medium when I make this.
It’s going to take about 10 minutes for the chocolate pudding to start to thicken and come up to a boil while you whisk. Turning the heat up to speed the process won’t help.
You may run the risk of burning it or it may boil quickly but the pudding will not have thickened. What you’ll be left with is hot chocolate soup.
If the pudding hasn’t thickened and come up to a boil in the saucepan, it won’t set up in the refrigerator either. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read comments on recipes where someone said…”It came to a boil but never set up in the refrigerator”.
Why would that happen? The heat was up to high, the mixture boiled , before it thickened. It will always thicken first, then boil. Patience Grasshopper, it’s a virtue.
When the pudding does thicken, it will happen fast and all at once. With in seconds it will start to boil. Large bubbles will come to the surface and erupt like little volcanoes. Whisk for one more minute.
Your chocolate pudding should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without seeing the metal on the spoon through the pudding.
Take the pudding off the burner and add the butter and vanilla , whisk to incorporate it into the pudding.
Pour the pudding into individual dessert cups, a graham cracker crust or a pie crust, depending on how you want to serve it. Press plastic wrap onto the pudding surface so it actually touches the surface of the pudding. This prevents a “skin” from forming on the top of the pudding when it cools. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until cooled. Top with whipping cream if desired and serve.
Congratulations, you just made a delicious Homemade Chocolate Pudding! Enjoy!
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2-1/4 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whipped topping as a topping optional
Instructions
- 1. First, read the ingredients and instructions and get acquainted with the recipe. Measure out all your ingredients. Place the sugar, cornstarch,cocoa powder and salt in a heavy duty saucepan . Whisk the ingredients together. Take the butter and vanilla and place it near the stove so it's measured out and ready when you need it.
- 2. After whisking the ingredients together you may see clumps in the mixture, they are cocoa clumps. Take the back of a kitchen tablespoon and press the large clumps out.
- 3. With a whisk in one had, slowly pour the milk into the pan while whisking.
- 4. Place the pan on a burner turned to low heat and whisk the mixture slowly. Why low heat? Your pudding has to thicken SLOWLY. This is where you need a little patience. It's going to take about 10 minutes on low heat for the pudding to start to thicken and come up to a boil while you whisk. Turning the heat up to speed the process won't help. You may run the risk of burning it or it may boil quickly but the pudding will not have thickened. What you'll be left with is hot chocolate soup. If the pudding hasn't thickened and come up to a boil in the saucepan, it won't set up in the refrigerator either. I can't tell you how many times I've read comments on recipes where someone said..."It came to a boil but never set up in the refrigerator". Why would that happen? The heat was up to high, the mixture boiled , before it thickened. It will always thicken first, then boil. Patience Grasshopper, it's a virtue.
- 5. When the pudding does thicken, it will happen fast and all at once. With in seconds it will start to boil. Large bubbles will come to the surface and erupt like little volcanoes. Whisk for one more minute.
- 6. Your pudding should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without seeing the metal on the spoon through the pudding. Take the pudding off the burner and add the butter and vanilla , whisk to incorporated it into the pudding. Pour the pudding into 4 dessert cups, a graham cracker crust or a pie crust depending on how you want to serve it. Press plastic wrap onto the pudding surface so it actually touches the surface of the pudding. This prevents a "skin" from forming on the top of the pudding when it cools. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until cooled. Top with whipping cream if desired and serve.
Video
I really like this recipe because it uses simple ingredients that are usually on hand in most kitchens, and the results are great. I have made it twice now, once with dark chocolate cocoa and once with regular cocoa. Both were delicious. The only thing is that both times it took at least twice as long to thicken than the recipe said it would. Perhaps my burner was too low, but the warnings about it not setting up if it boiled before it thickened made me afraid to turn the heat up too much. I just kept remembering “Patience, grasshopper,” and it did finally thicken.
You made me laugh Sherry, Patience Grasshopper. I needed that today. LOL! All stove tops are different, I happen to have a gas stove so I have a tendency to turn anything I’m cooking on top of the stove to a low setting. If you know your cook top Sweetie and you think you can turn it up a bit, do it. But the best thing for me is you made it! I love that, thank you for taking the time to come back and comment sweetie I appreciate it!
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Easy, delicious
Thank you Diane! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment, I appreciate you!
Hi, Mary, I love the recipe ‘cause it looked easy so I try it, but my pudding didn’t thicken, it was on low heat for about 40 minutes but nothing happened. What you think it may happen? … It could be cornstarch o my stove…. I don’t know… 🙁
I’m so sorry, I think my English is no so good….
Karina did it boil at all while it was on low heat? It needs to boil for it to thicken Honey.
Turned out beautifully!!! I had to use up some butter, milk, and graham crackers from other cooking. I literally had exactly the perfect amount of butter to make a crust with the crackers and put in the pudding, and my remaining milk measured out down to 1 extra tbsp which I am ok with pouring out. I have never made a pudding pie or even a pudding, but your recipe gave me great hope so I gave it a go. The pudding came out silky smooth. You have changed my dessert future. Thank You!!
Thank YOU!! So glad we could change your dessert future! 🙂 🙂
Follow the instructions and have patience and this pudding comes out great. Don’t rush it as it will not set up. I will probably do a little less sugar next time but otherwise this recipe is great.
Thanks for letting us know!
[…] from scratch all the time. For example, one of my absolute favorite recipes of all time is my homemade chocolate pudding! I’ll even make homemade chocolate frosting whenever I […]
This the second time I made this recipe and the first time I thought to sweet so cut sugar down to 1/2 cup and turned out fine for my taste. Very easy recipe to make. Thanks Terry Dell
Hi Terry, thank you for trying it and taking time to comment. Have a blessed day!
I’VE BEEN A FAN OF YOURS FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE YOUR WAY OF COOKING REMINDS ME OF MY SWEET MOM’S WAY OF COOKING!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR FROM SCRATCH RECIPES!!!