Dessert of the Month: Pudding and Cake!

DESSERT

With the closing of the doors of Gourmet magazine, it is time to savor all of their recipes they have given us through the years. My favorite section of the magazine was readers wanting to know recipes from various restaurants. While looking through some of their best issues I came across a recipe I have made only once but it was very good.

This is Valrhona chocolate pudding and is really good. I ordered the chocolate from chocosphere.com. This is my favorite source for hard to find chocolates. The flavor of what you bake with will make a huge difference if you use the best ingredients.

Valrhona Chocolate Pudding

City Limits Diner, Stamford Connecticut

1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 ounces Valrhona bittersweet chocolate (61%) finely chopped
5 large egg yolks

You will need 6 4 ounce ramekins

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a 2-3 quart heavy saucepan with tip of a paring knife, then add pod, milk, cream, and sugar and bring just to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add chocolate and cook over moderately high heat, stirring gently with a whisk, until chocolate is melted and mixture just boils. Remove from heat.

Pour mixture into a metal bowl. Set bowl, in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool to room temperature, stirring yolks, then pour through a fine mesh sieve in to a one quart measure, discarding pod and any other solids.

Divide among ramekins. Bake in a water bath until puddings are just set around edge but centers wobble when ramekins are gently shaken, about one hour.

Cool puddings in water bath one hour, then remove from water and chill, uncovered, until cold, at least one hour. Be sure to put plastic wrap on if you decide to keep longer. You can store these for 2 days before serving. Blot with paper towels before serving.