How to Make Chocolate Pudding from Tartine

I haven’t had pudding in a longggggg time. I think of snack packs, Billy Madison, and little kids when I think about pudding, until I saw this recipe from Tartine. The Bakery is a mission district staple and frequently has long lines.

I usually do not make these types of items either, so everything was a little foreign overall. Just a heads up, there is a good amount of hand mixing needed, so time to muscle up. I was shocked by the amount of corn starch in the bowl, I don’t think I’ve seen that much outside of a can, but I promise it works out. There are a few other pointers that I will guide you

Chef note – Make sure to read this recipe all the way through before you start. Have all the necessary ingredients and tools ready, because you need to move quick as the steps go fast. The pudding is not overly sweet at all. In the restaurant picture, they have it topped with a dollop of whipped cream which I am sure adds some of the sweetness.

Cookbook – Tartine

Ingredients –

Whole Milk – 1 3/4 cups
Heavy Cream – 1/2 Cup
Cornstarch – 1/4 Cup
Sugar – 3/4 Cup
Cocoa Powder – 3 tbsp
Large Eggs – 3
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped – 2 1/2oz, 70g

Tools –

Whisk
Fine mech sieve or strainer
Another fine mesh sieve or strainer for the cocoa
Multiple bowls
Thermometer
Immersion blender or for the end

Step 1 – Combine milk and cream

Literally, combine the two ingredients in a medium saucepan/pot and bring to just below a boil over medium heat. Be sure to watch this, it happened a little faster than I was expecting.

Step 2 – Combine cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder.

Combine the cornstarch and sugar, sift in the cocoa powder.

Step 3 – Whisk the eggs, add sugar mixture

In another bowl, combine the eggs and salt. Whisk together until well combined. After combined with the salt, add in the sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.

Step 4 – Add half of the milk mixture to the sugar egg mixture

Turn off the milk heat. Add half the milk mixture to the sugar mixture while constantly whisking to incorporate. Pour in slowly slowly, we don’t want the eggs to cook. Also be smart and don’t get burned. I grabbed a 1/2 cup measuring cup to slowly add in the liquid, I also had my sugar bowl on my stove next to the milk mixture to have an easy transfer. Remember, whisking until half has been added.

Step 5 – Transfer egg/sugar mixture into the milk mixture

After half has been added, transfer the sugar/egg/milk mixture into the rest of the milk mixture. Cook this over medium heat, whisking the whole time. At this time, it is going to thicken quite a bit, cook until ~208 degrees, about 5-7 minutes. If you see lumps, do not worry, those get taken out during the next step.

I actually dropped my thermometer into my chocolate. So I had to fish it out with a fork, and thankfully was looking at a clock so I ended up timing it for about 6 1/2 minutes. So I guess just be careful there.

Step 6 – Making the pudding

Immediately pour the content into the sieve over your bowl. The chocolate is pretty thick, so you have to press this down through the sieve, which will make it the extremely smooth snack pack pudding texture you are expecting. I used a silicon spoon to press everything down. Be sure to scrape all part of the sieve or strainer

Once all of the mixture is through the sieve/strainer, add in the chocolate and stir in briefly and wait for it to melt. Once melted, use an immersion blender until no clumps are visible. For me, the strainer did basically all of the heavy lifting on clumps, but I still used an immersion blender for good measure. Once done, portion out into cups and let cool.

It says it will keep for 4 days in the fridge.

And for the ratings –

Difficulty of ingredients to find – 3/5 stars – normal trip to the store will do
Perceived difficulty going into recipe – 3/5 stars – not easy, not hard
Difficulty after recipe – 3/5 stars – again, not easy but not hard
Time taken – 3/5 stars – less than 2 hours
Taste – 4/5 stars – Rich but not overly sugary, thicker consistency than you would think
Make again – 3/5 stars – for a special occasion, no doubt