|
Measuring Up; Dad’s Dessert
|
|
|
Hey, kids! Here’s a fun Father’s Day gift that doesn’t involve neckties or tools. In fact, it’s a pretty tasty anytime treat for the whole family, which means you’ll get some, too—if you finish your dinner. So here’s how it works: the first step of this recipe is making the mix (this is the kid-friendly part). You need to pour and measure ingredients together. If you have a small kitchen scale, you can weigh the ingredients, which is more accurate and more fun. If you want, ask Dad to help you calibrate the scale and show you how it works. (Be sure to use a large enough bowl on top of the scale and, when the bowl is empty, set the scale to zero.) If you’d rather keep dessert a surprise, someone else can help you mix it up and put it into a jar with a ribbon and a special note for Dad, including the recipe.
Next, Dad (or another grown-up) needs to make the pudding using your super mix. Here are a few hints and tricks for this part:
The recipe says to pour the cooked pudding through a sieve. This is to remove any lumps, always done for puddings made with eggs. For this one, forget the sieve and pour the pudding directly into the bowls, since it’s too thick to strain without a mess and, if you’ve whisked well, you shouldn’t have to worry much about the lumps.
The pudding is super-chocolately and quite rich—especially when made with cream. (You can substitute whole milk for the cream.) Since June is also Dairy Month, go ahead and splurge with the deluxe heavy cream version, but reduce the portion to ½ cup per person. Therefore, to make 4 servings, you’ll need to divide 1 ¾ cups by 2. If your most recent math class didn’t cover fractions, the answer is ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of mix with 1 cup each of milk and cream, ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
Also, the recipe recommends chilling the pudding for 4 hours. This is an awfully long time to wait for “instant” pudding! You can chill it down fast in an ice-water bath, or pop the pudding in the freezer to speed things along (though the flavor actually improves with a day in the ’fridge.
It’s so yummy you’ll probably want to have it on hand all the time! You can store the pudding mix in the refrigerator and, any time you want, measure up some fun.
Chocolate Pudding
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004
1 ¾ cups Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix, recipe follows
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place dry pudding mix into a medium saucepan. Add milk and cream and whisk to combine. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, gently whisking continuously. Reduce heat to low and cook for 4 minutes while continuing to whisk. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour the mixture through a sieve and into individual dishes or a 1 ½-quart serving dish. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill completely before serving, approximately 4 hours.
Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
3 ounces Dutch-processed cocoa, approximately 1 cup
2 ounces cornstarch, approximately ½ cup
6 ounces confectioners’ sugar, approximately 1 ½ cup
1 ½ ounces instant non-fat dry milk, approximately ½ cup
1 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl or plastic container with a lid, combine the cocoa, cornstarch, sugar, instant non-fat dry milk, and salt. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Yield: 3 ½ cups dry mix.
---------------------------------------------------
Editor’s Note: Angela Denstad Stigeler writes a food column each week for the Caledonia Argus. She, her husband and their two young children live in Caledonia.
|
