Need A Good Recipe For Chocolate Pudding Using Bitter (Unsweetened) Chocolate
The last time I went shopping the grocery store had Ghiraredelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate bars on sale for less than 1/2 price..So, I purchased two bars thinking I might make chocolate custard out of it..
All of the pudding / pots de creme / custard recipes that I have call for bittersweet chociolate..Same goes for the ones I tried to research on the net..Probably scanned quickly at least 50 recipes before deciding to post the question here..The single recipe that I found, link below, seems to be a cross between a steamed pudding with bread or flour in the ingredient list, and puddings using only eggs to set the custard..
I am tempted to make the recipe in the link with the following changes..Eliminate the flour altogether, reduce the butter to 4 oz., increase the number of eggs to 6, not separate the eggs, lower the baking temperature to 300F, place the custard in ramekins, and bake on sheet pan in a water bath until set..
I would be interested in hearing any comments on my thoughts as regards to changing the recipe in the link..As well as any recipes that members might have for puddings / custards / pot de creme that use unsweetened chocolate..I would also like to hear from members that have experience with "pudding" recipes that when baked can be sliced into shapes, as the pudding in the linked recipe is capable of..
Thanks, Bruce
Aren't you going to start with making the linked recipe first as a test of what you may want to change?
I merely used the linked recipe as the only example of a chocolate pudding that I could find on the net that DID NOT specify the use bittersweet chocolate in the ingredient list..
Language differences between countries is interesting..I found several recipes that were labeled Bitter Chocolate in their titles..But, upon closer examination of the ingredient list, it turns out that what the author's of the recipes were specifying was a very strong, 75%-85% cacao, bittersweet chocolate that they were terming bitter chocolate..
I need a pudding, pot de creme, or custard recipe that is kinda old-fashioned by the use of unsweetened chocolate in the recipe..I do not want a recipe that contains wheat flour, corn starch, arrow root starch, etc..I am looking for a traditional chocolate custard recipe that uses only eggs, or egg yolks for the thickening agent..
Bruce
Bruce,
I scanned through several cookbooks and all of the recipes I found called for either sweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate. It makes me wonder if you couldn't take a pots du chocolat recipe and add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to compensate for your unsweetened chocolate, or perhaps a creme anglaise recipe with additional sugar plus the chocolate. Those desserts typically are made without starches.
Paul
Anyone here know the ratio of granulated sugar to unsweetened chocolate..I am trying to remember, and I was thinking that it is approximately a 3:1 ratio..Any thoughts??..
Bruce
I think what you might want is a 'Custard' Chocolate Custard recipe. I found a very nice recipe using creams, rich chocolates, expresso, ect...Im not very good at directing to sites..but this is what by browser showed... http://web.com/gandasalvesen/iweb/Ganda/Chocolate%20Custard.html or just search chocolate custard recipes...hope this helps!
Sylvia
REcipe for Triple-Chocolate Custard on Foodnetwork. Gale Gand's recipe. One is called a pudding and one a custard. She does not have eggs in it> so it's a pudding and uses bittersweet chocolate!
Sylvia
You could use just the custard portion of this recipe and scale as needed?
http://nymag.com/restaurants/articles/recipes/chocolatecustardtart.htm
I saw that recipe earlier during my searches..The problem is that Valhrona Extra Bitter is a strong bittersweet chocolate, not unsweetened chocolate..I know from past disasters and disappointments the foolhardiness in trying to substitute unsweetened chocolate for even very strong bittersweet chocolate..This is why I am searching for either a formula that gives a ratio of granulated sugar to unsweetened chocolate in dessert recipes, or a recipe from early in the 20th Century that used unsweetened chocolate to make a custard, pudding, or pots de creme..
Bruce
I seldom open my two oldest cookbooks because of condition issues..Both the paper and the binding of my 1946 copy of The Joy of Cooking are deteriorating, as is the spine and binding of my 1931 copy of The Boston Cooking School Cook Book..
Both cookbooks have chocolate custard recipes that are appropriate for my needs..I will post them tomorrow, as my back hurts right now, and it is time to stop sitting in front of this computer!!..
Bruce