Easy Valentine’s Day Chocolate Dessert – Homemade Mocha Fudge Pudding

Cooking at Home for Valentine’s Day

We never go out for Valentine’s Day dinner, instead opting for a quiet dinner at home. We skip the crowds, often over-booked restaurants, over-worked kitchens and sometimes higher prices for special menus. We decided  long ago it’s not worth the hassle or the price tag when we can prepare a special dinner at home for far less.

Cooking at home is also nice when you want to treat your family or a group of friends that you love to a special dinner or just dessert. When it comes to dessert for Valentine’s day, it’s all about chocolate. Here is an easy to make yet decadent chocolate dessert to serve your sweetie or sweeties.

Chocolate Pudding or Pots de Creme?

As a kid, chocolate pudding meant opening a box of Jello, adding milk and following the directions. Of course, you can still do that today, but boxed chocolate pudding is no match for home made. The French call these Pots de Crème (pronounced poh-du-krem). Now that’s a name with some pizzazz.  Translation - pots of cream, which is basically what they are.  Luscious little cups or ramekins of good quality chocolate combined with hot cream, a little sugar and a few other ingredients. Some recipes add cocoa powder, vanilla, egg yolk, a pinch of salt and even cinnamon for a spiced version. The nice thing is you can easily keep the ingredients on hand to make these anytime your sweet tooth or a special occasion hits.

If the spiced version sounds good (it won’t to the chocolate purists, I understand), try adding a little Chinese Five Spice when heating the cream and espresso powder. Five Spice is a blend of cinnamon, star anise, anise seed, ginger and clove. It has a wonderful affinity for chocolate. I like to add Five Spice when I make chocolate gelato and it pairs well with this pudding recipe as well.

It’s All About the Chocolate

For my baking and dessert needs I keep both block chocolate and chocolate wafers in my pantry. If you have a block of chocolate it’s much easier to knock it down to size using a long serrated knife.  To skip chopping altogether, try chocolate wafers or buttons. The block chocolate in my pantry is from Scharffen Berger and for the buttons I keep a big box of Guittard Couverture Wafers.  The wafers are about the size of a nickel.  No chopping required, which makes it easier and faster…and better for nibbling.

High quality chocolate is essential for a recipe like this, so if you can’t find high quality chocolate at a store near you, visit Chocosphere. This is a site that will send chocolate lovers into a trance. Chocosphere features 49 different brands of chocolates, almost from A to Z, from Alma Chocolate to Waialua Estate. To measure just the right amount of chocolate I always use a digital scale for accuracy. If you don’t have one, they are a worthwhile investment. I could not live without one in my kitchen. Another ingredient note – for the espresso powder, I use Medaglia d’Oro. If you can’t find it at the store it can be ordered off the internet. Market Hall Foods carries it.

The recipe I’ve made for years is from the February 1998 issue of Food and Wine Magazine by Jan Newberry with a few personal edits to that original recipe.  Once this pudding sets up it’s almost like a truffle. If you prefer it softer, plan to eat it sooner before it sets up or do as I do and add more cream to the recipe. Instead of a 1/2 cup I use 1 cup of heavy cream.

However you celebrate Valentine’s Day and whomever you celebrate with – your spouse, special someone, family or a group of friends,  Mocha Fudge Pudding is guaranteed to be a hit for dessert.

Mocha Fudge Pudding

Yield: will depend on the size of ramekins used, 3-4 servings

 The ramekin size is not specified in the original recipe. I’d suggest using small ones, about 3-4 ounces each. Sometimes I use espresso cups which are about 3 ounces. This recipe is very rich, so a small amount is usually enough to satisfy a sweet tooth at the end of a meal. Newberry notes that the silky texture of this pudding depends on the inclusion of the raw egg. If you are concerned about using a raw egg, look for pasteurized eggs at your grocers. The puddings can be refrigerated overnight.

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream (I use 1 cup for a softer texture)

2 teaspoons instant espresso

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (optional, or try plain cinnamon)

Directions

1) In a food processor, combine the chocolate and sugar and pulse until the chocolate is finely ground. Add the egg, vanilla and salt and pulse to a paste.

2) In a small saucepan, bring the cream, espresso powder and spice (if using) to a boil over high heat, whisking to incorporate.

3) With the food processor on, add the hot cream in a steady stream and blend until smooth and silky, about 1 minute. This melts everything together and makes the pudding.

4) Transfer the pudding to the ramekins and refrigerate. It will be easier if you first pour it into a large heat proof measuring cup (like Pyrex) with a pouring spout.

Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream (add a little vanilla and a touch of sugar when whipping) and chocolate curls (do them with a vegetable peeler and a block of chocolate). A few fresh strawberries are a nice addition too.