Name: Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
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)

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 in a white dessert dish sitting on a brown table

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Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Learn to make Homemade Chocolate Pudding from scratch with this delicious Chocolate Pudding recipe. The post includes a picture tutorial plus video.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate pudding, homemade chocolate pudding

Servings:

Author: Mary Malone

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.