Recipe: Chocolate Pudding

One of the most classic Swedish desserts is chocolate pudding. It's basically a chocolate-flavoured milk jelly and was one of my favourites as a child. For some reason, it's going out of use and when it is made, it is usually made from a mix. I think that's a great pity - it's yummy, easy to make and contains considerable less sugar and fat than many 'modern' desserts.

I consider this a 'winter dessert', because it doesn't require fresh fruit or berries and it needs to cool in a chilly environment - so much better to put it outside in the snow than in the fridge!

I got my favourite recipe for it from Husmorsskolan and I've made it several times, always with excellent results. I've tried to translate it into English and hope it makes sense!

6 dl / 2.5 cups milk
5 tbsp cornstarch (Maizena)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
1 egg
vanilla extract/vanilla sugar to taste

Mix all the ingredients and whisk them together. Heat slowly while stirring and allow to simmer until the cream is really thick.

Let cool a little, and pour it into a bowl/mould or portions-sized cups. Make sure you rinse them in water before you pour the cream in – it makes the pudding come out much more easily.

It needs to cool off and be chilled to set. You can put it in the fridge or, like I said, outside if it's cold. How long it takes depends on the temperature. One hour is sufficient if it's really cold outside, but in the fridge, you need to give it 3-4 hours.

Tip it out and serve as is or with whipped cream. It looks best if you have a fancy old-fashioned pudding mould of course, but it can be rather nice to serve individual little puddings too.

The texture is somewhere between custard and jelly. Very yummy!