This chocolate pudding with raspberries and sea salt is not only easy to make but insanely delicious with such depth and richness that you'll never go back to store bought chocolate puddings.
Every year I look forward to Food52’s the Piglet cookbook tournament where 16 of the most notable cookbooks face off in a NCAA-style bracketed tournament. Since I own a few hundred cookbooks, I follow the tournament to look for inspiring ones. Brave Tart wasn’t even on my radar until I read this review and this one. Although Brave Tart didn’t make it to the final, it had already peaked my curiosity.
We eventually made it to Barnes and Noble last Sunday with the kids in tow. While they were playing, I flipped through the book and was caught off guard by the chocolate pudding recipe. Unlike Vu who grew up with chocolate pudding, I didn’t even like it until a few months ago. Last December I was hospitalized for acute pancreatitis and put on bowel rest. After two days of starvation, the doctor finally started me on water and broth. Once I was able to tolerate the liquids, she transitioned me to a mechanically soft diet which meant cream of wheat and pudding or jello. I could have sworn my taste buds sang hallelujah after my first spoon of chocolate pudding. It was so good I asked for a second and third. Chocolate pudding was one of the most delicious things I had eaten in 2017. Given my newfound love for chocolate pudding and it being one of of Vu’s favorite treats, I wanted a homemade version that was foolproof and unfussy and the recipe from Brave Tart fitted that bill.
I tried the recipe the same day knowing that it needed a few hours overnight in the fridge to set. The morning after I panicked a little when it looked more like a jello than a pudding. Maybe I missed a step and messed up! I read the instructions again and proceeded to scrape the pudding into my mixer and started whipping it. After a few minutes, it came out smooth and creamy as Stella Parks promised. It was the best chocolate pudding I have ever tasted, but just a tad sweeter than my liking. I added fresh raspberries, shaved dark chocolate, and a touch of sea salt and boy did it take the edge off the sweetness. It was smooth, rich, and had such depth that Vu agreed it was better than any store bought chocolate puddings. This chocolate pudding with raspberries and sea salt is our new go to chocolate pudding recipe and that alone is worth the price of this book.
If you like chocolate, check out these recipes: chocolate amaretto tart, Earl Grey chocolate pots de creme, chocolate cake with espresso buttercream, and Earl Grey chocolate souffle cake.
Chocolate Pudding with Raspberries and Sea Salt
Ingredients
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin powder (2 ¼ tsp)
- 2 tbsps 2% milk to bloom gelatin
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup gently packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon iodized salt
- 1 ½ cups 2% organic milk
- ½ cup organic raspberries for serving
- ¼ cup shaved dark chocolate
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk gelatin, 2 tbsps milk, and vanilla extract and let the gelatin bloom.
- In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, cocoa powder, and salt and use a spatula to break up any lumps.
- Add the milk and warm over medium heat whisking gently until steaming hot for about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture until fully melted.
- Pour the the mixture through a sieve into a 4 cup container and cool for 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, scrape the pudding into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium heat until creamy for about 3-5 minutes.
- Divide the pudding into four glasses, top with raspberries, shaved chocolate, and sprinkle with sea salt.
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