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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Chocolate Almond Pudding

Chocolate Almond Pudding | The Sweets Life
Chocolate Almond Pudding 
We aren’t huge milk drinkers in our house. We usually have almond milk on hand and use that when we eat a (occasional for me, frequent snack for Ryan) bowl of cereal. I’ll buy milk when I need it for a recipe, but more often than not I find myself begging Ryan to finish it off before it expires—part of my sincere attempt to waste as little food as possible! When he’s traveling or have a disproportionate amount of milk to cereal, I take matters into my own hands!
Pin ItChocolate Almond Pudding | The Sweets Life

Sometimes excess milk goes towards homemade ice cream, but sometimes I like to change it up and instead opt for pudding! I was all set to make the peanut butter pudding that had been my solution in the past for extra milk when I spied a Ghirardelli dark chocolate bar with almonds. Suddenly a new pudding flavor was created!
Chocolate Almond Pudding | The Sweets Life

Because I used a nutty chocolate bar, there’s some crunch to this pudding. If you’re a texture weirdo (no offense), just use dark chocolate and get all of the almond flavor from the extract. I’m kicking myself for not mixing some shredded coconut into the finished product to make an Almond Joy-esque pudding! (Next time!!!) This homemade pudding was equally good hot and cold, and can be jazzed up however you wish—extra almonds on top, homemade whipped cream, or a sprinkle of chocolate chips. Treats like this tempt my subconscious to pick up milk when I’m at the store simply so I’ll have an excuse to make this again!

One Year Ago: Grilled Fattoush and Blueberries and Cream Pie
Two Years Ago: Lemony Grilled Potato Salad and Spicy Squash Pickles
Three Years Ago: Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn and Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Panini
Four Years Ago: Mini Zucchini Cakes with Walnuts 

Chocolate Almond Pudding
*serves 4-6

Ingredients:
-6 tbsp granulated sugar
-1/4 cup cornstarch
-1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 1/2 cups 2% milk
-1 1/2 cups heavy cream
-8 oz dark chocolate almond bars, broken into small pieces
-2 tbsp unsalted butter
-1 tsp almond extract
-slivered almonds for serving, if desired

Directions:
1. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a saucepan to combine. Whisk in milk and cream.
2. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until mixture thickens (1-2 minutes after boil).
3. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, butter, and almond extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour pudding into a bowl and press plastic wrap over the surface. Refrigerate until chilled. Divide into cups and top with slivered almonds before serving, if desired.