Chocolate Pudding with Cocoa and Cornstarch

Name: Chocolate Pudding Set with Cornstarch (Postre de Chocolate)
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 170 min
Ingredients: 2 cups milk; 5 tablespoons cocoa powder; 4 tablespoons sugar; 4 tablespoons cornstarch (this is what sets it)

Milk, cocoa, sugar and cornstarch blended cold, then cooked gently until it thickens and chilled until it sets. Four ingredients, and the waiting is nearly three hours of it.

Total: 2 50

JUMP TO RECIPE

Milk, cocoa, sugar and cornstarch blended cold, then cooked gently until it thickens and chilled until it sets. Four ingredients, and nearly three hours of it is waiting.

Three hours, not ten minutes

The recipe card on this page used to say ten minutes. That is the stove time, and it left out both the 40 minutes of cooling in the fourth step and the two hours in the fridge in the fifth.

The honest figure is close to three hours from start to spoon, almost all of it waiting. It is a dessert to make in the afternoon for the evening, not one to start when people are already at the table.

Blend it cold, then heat it

Everything goes in the blender first: milk, cocoa, sugar and cornstarch, all cold. Only then does it go in the pot.

This is what prevents lumps. Cornstarch added to warm liquid gelatinises the instant it touches it, forming knots with dry powder trapped inside, and no amount of stirring afterwards will break them up. Dispersed in cold milk it stays suspended until the whole pot warms together.

Then low heat and constant stirring. Cornstarch thickens fast once it reaches its temperature, and the bottom of the pot is where it happens first.

Thick, but not boiling

The third step is precise about this: thickened, but without boiling.

Cornstarch reaches full thickening power just under a simmer. Push past that and prolonged boiling can start breaking the starch chains down again, which gives a pudding that seems thick in the pot and stays runny in the dish.

The signal is a spoon drawn through it leaving a trail that holds for a second. That is the moment to take it off.

Into the dishes hot

It has to be poured out while it is still fluid. Cornstarch sets as it cools and a pudding that has begun to set will not level itself in the dish.

Then 40 minutes on the counter and two hours in the fridge. The counter stage matters: putting a hot dish straight into a cold fridge warms everything around it and can leave the pudding with a watery layer underneath.

More chocolate

Chocolate brownies — the baked one.
Colombian hot chocolate — the drink.
Three milks dessert — another cold set.
Chocolate bonbons — no heat at all.

Chocolate Pudding FAQ

How long does it really take?

Nearly three hours. Ten minutes of work, then 40 minutes cooling on the counter and 2 hours in the fridge. The card used to claim ten minutes in total, which is the time at the stove and not the time until you can eat it.

Why blend everything cold?

Because cornstarch dropped into warm milk seizes on contact and forms knots that never dissolve. Blended into cold milk first it disperses completely and only thickens once the pot goes on the heat.

Why must it not boil?

Cornstarch thickens just below a simmer, and boiling it hard can break the starch down again and leave you with a pudding that never sets. Take it off as soon as it holds the trail of a spoon.

Can I use less cornstarch?

Four tablespoons in two cups of milk gives a firm set you could turn out. Three gives something softer that you eat with a spoon from the dish. Less than that and it will not set at all.

Why pour it out while it is hot?

Because it starts setting as it cools and will not level itself once it has begun. Divide it between the dishes straight off the heat.

Does a skin form on top?

Yes, as it cools on the counter. Press plastic wrap onto the surface if that bothers you, or leave it, since many people consider the skin the best part.

Is this a natilla?

It is the same family: milk thickened with starch and set without eggs or gelatine. Colombian natilla is a Christmas dish made with panela and cinnamon; this is the everyday chocolate version.

📖 Recipe

Chocolate Pudding Set with Cornstarch (Postre de Chocolate)

No ratings yet

Imprimir Pin Comentar

Prep Time: 2

Cook Time: 8

Cooling and chilling: 2 40

Total Time: 2 50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: chocolate dessert

Servings: 4

Calories: 166kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups milk
▢ 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
▢ 4 tablespoons sugar
▢ 4 tablespoons cornstarch (this is what sets it)

Notas

Blending everything cold is what stops the lumps. Cornstarch dropped into warm milk seizes on contact and forms knots that never dissolve; blended into cold milk first, it disperses completely and only thickens once the pot goes on the heat. Stir constantly and keep the heat low. Cornstarch thickens somewhere around a simmer and it does it quickly, so the moment it starts to hold the trail of a spoon it is ready. Boiling it hard does the opposite of what you want: it can break the starch down again and give you a pudding that never sets properly. Then it needs time, which is what the card used to hide. Forty minutes on the counter and two hours in the fridge, so nearly three hours from start to spoon. It has to be poured into the dishes while it is still hot and pourable, because once it starts to set it will not level out.

Instructions

Put the milk, the cocoa powder, the sugar and the cornstarch in the blender jug and blend until everything is combined.
Pour it into a pot and heat over low heat, stirring constantly.
When the mixture has thickened, but before it boils, take it off the heat and pour it into individual dishes.
Let it cool for 40 minutes.
Then refrigerate for 2 hours, until it has set.

Nutrition