Temper, temper, temper...

Any guesses as to what went wrong with this chocolate pudding?

Over the weekend, I decided to make one of our comfort food favorites, homemade chocolate pudding. Now I've made chocolate pudding a number of times and I am fully aware that it is necessary to temper the egg before adding it into pudding. In my defense, I did temper the egg. But I was in a rush and I added the hot liquid too fast to my egg. Still hurrying, I added the poorly tempered egg back into the pudding before I realized the condition (scrambled) of that egg. For those of you unaware of tempering, it just means that you gradually add hot liquid to the egg to bring it the same temparature of the pudding (or custard, souffle, etc.) before adding it into the pudding to avoid the unpleasant texture pictured above.

Here are the steps for tempering an egg:

1. Add a small amount of the hot liquid or substance to the egg,stirring vigorously.

2. Once the egg is well incorporated you can add a little more then stir some more.Then you can place the mixture back in the pot.

3. It is crucial that you add them very slowly to what ever you are cooking.If not,you will end up with scrambled eggs.This is why it is very important to slowly bring the egg to the same tempature as the mixture you are adding it to.

Now that we've had our little tempering lesson, and you're sure to avoid the same kitchen disaster that I encountered, I'm going to go ahead and recommend this pudding recipe. I found it in Better Homes and Gardens and I thought that I'd compare it against my go-to Dark Chocolate Pudding Recipe .

So here's how you make BHG Rich and Creamy Chocolate Pudding:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugars, cocoa powder, cornstarch. The recipe recommends that you should also stir in instant espresso powder. I didn't have any espresso powder, so I added a couple of tablespoons of strong coffee to the milk before adding it to the pudding.



Gradually stir in the milk and coffee until smooth.



Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.



This next step is where I went wrong. See, even a practiced, competent cook messes up from time to time. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into egg in a medium bowl. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in saucepan, stirring constantly. Return saucepan to heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.

The verdict: The flavor of this pudding was wonderful! I can just imagine how delicious it would have been if I hadn't turned it into chocolate egg drop soup. I'd certainly make this recipe again...sans egg chunks.

Mmmm. Lumpy.



You know the old saying, "Haste makes waste?" Totally accurate this time.


Rich and Creamy Chocolate Pudding from Better Homes and Gardens

Prep: 30 minutes
Chill: 2 hours

Ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. instant espresso coffee powder or instant coffee crystals
2 cups fat-free milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 banana, sliced (optional)
1 Tbsp. chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugars, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and espresso powder. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

2. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into egg in a medium bowl. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in saucepan, stirring constantly. Return saucepan to heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.

3. Place saucepan in a very large bowl half-filled with ice water. Stir pudding constantly for 2 minutes to cool quickly. Transfer to a medium bowl. Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 24 hours. To serve, top with sliced banana and/or crystallized ginger. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 217, Total Fat (g) 5, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 63, Sodium (mg) 95, Carbohydrate (g) 39, Total Sugar (g) 33, Fiber (g) 2, Protein (g) 7, Calcium (DV%) 18, Iron (DV%) 6, Percent Daily Values are based
on a 2,000 calorie diet

To print this recipe click here!

Attention Chocolate Lovers: Dark Chocolate Pudding

Ask any of my friends....I'm an addict. I don't remember a day without at least one taste of chocolate. And for me, the darker, the better. Everything in moderation, right? Actually, this one isn't too bad for you. I printed this recipe off of the Weight Watchers site about 7 years ago. I was a whopping size 4 and looking for recipes to feed my chocolate habit while still allowing me to fit into my wedding dress. As you can see, the pudding worked just fine for me (um, and the 5 miles a day I was jogging back then).


So go ahead and indulge. Here's whatcha need...

Skim milk, cocoa, sugar, an egg yolk, salt, cornstarch, and vanilla.


Begin by measuring your dry ingredients. I like to measure the cocoa over a sheet of waxed paper. There's that tiny lil' hole in the top of the cocoa can and it's impossible to get all of the cocoa back into the can without making a mess when you level it off. So I level it onto the waxed paper and then I turn the paper into a funnel and easily dump the excess cocoa back into the container.


Now combine the cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large, nonstick saucepan.


Mix em' up.


And pour in the milk...slowly. You want to really whisk it in so your pudding isn't lumpy.



Bring the mixture to a boil, over medium low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.


Now you need an egg yolk...



slightly beaten. If you're cooking with kids, this is a fun step to assign them. That's my daughter, beating the egg yolk.


Before adding the egg yolk, you've got to "temper" it.

Temper: To gently heat a food, often before adding it to a hotter substance. One example is adding a teaspoon or so of hot sauce to beaten eggs. The mixture is blended and then added to the sauce. This keeps the eggs from curdling.

So add a tablespoon of the cocoa mixture to the egg yolk. Then pour the egg yolk into the pudding and cook and stir for another 2 minutes over medium low heat.


Now remove the saucepan from the burner and stir in your vanilla. Mmmm. Smells so good!


And because I'm not fond of that "skin" that forms atop cooked pudding whilst it's cooling, I put plastic wrap or waxed paper right on the surface of the pudding.


And that's it. Serve it up and enjoy! I should warn, this is really "chocolatey". Kind of bittersweet. So, if that's not your thing...you might layer it with whipped cream or if you're being good...fat free whipped topping.


Dark Chocolate Pudding

2 1/4 cups fat free milk
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a large, nonstick saucepan, bring the milk, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

2. In a bowl, lightly beat egg yolk.

3. Whisk in 1 T. of the cocoa mixture; whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the cocoa mixture, whisking constantly.

4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Now, I don't have the official nutritional info. Not the calories, carbs, fat grams, etc. But I did scrawl across the bottom of the printout: Makes 4 servings, 3 WW points each.