Alton Brown's Chocolate Pudding

This is a tasty pudding and you can make the mix ahead of time. Yields 3 1/2 cups dry mix.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups Instant Chocolate PUdding Mix, recipe follows
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Place 1 3/4 cups dry pudding mix into a medium saucepan.
2. Add milk and heavy cream. Whisk to combine.
3. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, continuously whisking gently.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 4 minutes while continuing to whisk.
5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
6. Pour the mixture through a sieve and into individual dishes or a 1 1/2-quart serving dish.
7. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap. (Let the plastic wrap touch the pudding itself; it helps prevent skin that causes lumps.)
8. Place in the refrigerator to chill completely before serving. Approximately 4 hours.

Instant Pudding Mix

! Ingredients

• 3 ounces Dutch-processed cocoa, approximately 1 cup
• 2 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/2 cup
• 6 ounces confectioner's sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 1/2 ounces instant non-fat dry milk, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 tsp salt

! Directions

1. In a large bowl or plastic container with a lid, combine the cocoa, cornstarch, sugar, instant non-fat dry milk, and salt.
2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.