Chocolate Pudding

Mmmmmm....chocolate pudding.  It's one of those tasty treats that my mom would make every once in a while and something which, for the longest time, I didn't realize most people just bought from the grocery store.  It's a great dessert for a dreary winter day, only takes a few minutes to make, and is very easy.  I once made this right after getting my wisdom teeth out completely high on oxycodone (I didn't realize just how fast it would take effect) and it still came out great AND I didn't burn the apartment down.  You'll need: 3 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of butter.

 

Beat the egg slightly and in a large saucepan, combine that, the milk, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt.  Heat this slowly over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom of the saucepan.  And I really do mean constantly; if you don't it'll stick to the bottom of the saucepan and you'll end up with some very lumpy pudding.  It'll start out very liquid at first, but once it starts to thicken, it will do so pretty quickly.  Keep it on the heat until it becomes very bubbly; kind of like the Bog of Eternal Stench from Labyrinth, only much better smelling and, presumably, tastier.  

Once it starts bubbling away, turn off the heat and stir in your vanilla and butter.  Once the butter has melted in, pour your pudding into a large glass or metal bowl through a fine mesh strainer.  This will get rid of any errant lumps.

Begone, foul lumps!

Ta-da!  You now have a large, steamy bowl of delicious chocolate pudding!  Now, you should probably put some plastic wrap on top of it; this will keep a skin from forming on your pudding.  Just put the wrap directly onto the pudding, it's fine that you're doing this while it's still hot.

That's pretty steamy

Now, chocolate pudding is fine all on its own.  But you know what makes it really great?  Topping it with homemade whipped cream!  This is another recipe that'll only take a few minutes to make.  You only need: 1/2 pint whipping cream, 3-4 tablespoons of sugar, and a dash of vanilla.

Just this

Pour the whipping cream into a large glass or metal bowl (if you can chill it and a set of beaters in the freezer first this will go faster) and beat it on high until it starts to thicken.  Add in your sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

All done!

Bam!  You're all done!