The Best (& Easiest) Chocolate Pudding

I don't know about you but there are times when I have a particular food obsession. You know the kind where you eat the same kind of food over and over. Right now I am in one of those phases with homemade pudding. I must say now that once you start, you will never go back to pudding from a box again. I know I won't.
Ever since I came across this recipe from Smitten Kitchen's blog, I have been hooked on pudding! After trying the original recipe, I wondered if I could possibly improve upon this already great recipe.  Many tries later, I think I have.

My recipe is very similar to Smitten Kitchen's but with a few small changes. I use some heavy cream, a mixture of dark and semi-sweet chocolates, and a little bit more vanilla.

Here's how I make my pudding:

I don't have a traditional double boiler setup. So instead a medium pot with a small stainless steel bowl was used. It looked something like this:

In the bowl I whisked together cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Then after I added the heavy cream and milk, which looked like so:

When the mixture began to thicken, the dark and semi-sweet chocolates were added. It is the right consistency when the mixture coats a spoon.

Remove the stainless steel bowl from your double boiler and wipe the bottom with a kitchen towel. This prevents any water or condensation getting into your pudding. I cover my pudding immediately with plastic wrap and let the pudding cool slightly before putting it in the refrigerator. By putting plastic wrap over your pudding, it prevents a skin from forming. However, if you happen to like pudding skin, the wrap can be left off.

The Best (& Easiest) Chocolate Pudding
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 ounces dark chocolate
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Over a double boiler over low heat, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. 
2. Whisk in the heavy cream and whole milk. Stir until slightly thickened and scarping the sides occasionally.
3. Add the semi-sweet and dark chocolates. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
5. Cool slightly and then refrigerate covered with plastic wrap.
6. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or overnight. Can keep for a week.(But rarely does!)

Enjoy!!

Wacky Cake

I was flipping through one of my cookbooks the other day and came across a recipe for Wacky Cake. I was intrigued as the recipe calls for no eggs or milk. As a WWII history buff, I knew wacky cake's origins date back to the late '30s to the mid 40's when food was scarce or rationed for the war effort. But how would it really turn out? This was something I had to find out for myself.

I started by combining the dry ingredients in the pan that I was to bake it in. I thought to myself - I love easy recipes. I  made three holes in the dry mixture. One was filled with vegetable oil, the second vanilla, and the third with vinegar. It looked like this:

Then after pouring a cup of water over everything,  stirred until combined and no streaks of the dry mixture were left, it looked liked normal cake batter. As I hurried it to the preheated oven, I thought I hope this works. I knew that the chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking powder would give the cake some lift. But I wondered just how much.

I shouldn't have been so skeptical because my wacky cake came out beautiful! Okay, it came out a little under done hence its the indentation in the middle of the cake. However, I did not mind and was impressed with how well it came out. It just goes to show when something's old, it doesn't mean it's outdated. Wacky Cake will definitely have a place in my cake repertoire from now on!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have some cake!

Wacky Cake

(adapted from Cook's Country, America's Best Lost Recipes)

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/3  cup cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup water

  Confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in the prepared pan. Make one large hole, and two small holes in the dry ingredients. Add the oil to the large hole and the vinegar and vanilla separately to the small holes. Pour the water in to the pan and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Immediately put the pan in the oven.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan, then dust with confectioner's sugar. ( The cake can be stored at room temperature for several days.)