Chocolate pudding
SERVES 8
Growing up, this pudding was a regular in Mum’s kitchen, and in most kitchens around Italy. It carries an air of nostalgia and memories of Italy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially if set in those old-fashioned moulds mums used to buy at Tupperware parties. That’s where my mum got hers, the same one you see in these pictures, now in the hands of her granddaughter, Luna. It’s a simple yet meaningful moment to capture. Budino is very easy to make, but the catch is that it needs to set in the fridge for 4-6 hours before it can be safely turned out to reveal its texture – the love child of panna cotta and thick chocolate custard.
750ml (3 cups) full-cream milk
145g (⅔ cup) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
200g dark chocolate (70% cacao) – or use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate
120g unsalted butter
60g (⁄ cup) cornflour (or potato starch), sifted fresh berries, whipped cream to serve, optional
1 Combine milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium–low heat and, stirring, bring to just below simmering point (when you see little bubbles form on the edge of the surface). Turn off the heat. Add the vanilla seeds and mix. Set aside.
2 Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of just simmering water (make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Add the cornflour and whisk it through the chocolate and butter mixture for 30 seconds or until incorporated. Turn off the heat.
3 Slowly add milk mixture to chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Tip mixture back into pan, bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and stir for 3-4 minutes until starting to thicken. The texture will be like a thick custard.
4 Grease a non-stick bundt tin or plastic mould, pour in the chocolate mixture and level the surface with a spoon. Set in the fridge for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
5 When ready to serve, blow hot air from a hair dryer around the bottom and side of the tin or mould, so pudding can safely be released; about 20 seconds will do the trick.
6 Turn budino out onto a serving plate, serve with berries and whipped cream, if you like.