dark chocolate pudding

I love sleeping in on Sundays, waking up to a bright sun streaming in through the blinds and lighting up the room. I love walking into the kitchen and not having to turn on any lamps, because the natural sunlight is enough to give the apartment a warm glow. I love opening the door to a fresh, cool breeze and knowing that spring is just inches away.

Not to mention that turning on the telly and finding out that it's abc's Harry Potter weekend is also a lovely surprise.

Though I suppose, in retrospect, this is probably the worst weekend for something as enticing as a Harry Potter movie marathon to be going on. It just diminishes my already lacking motivation to write start this paper I have due tomorrow.

Then again, since I will be referencing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in aforementioned paper, perhaps it's warm-up before I start. A sort of mental prep, if you will.

Dark Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from The Shoebox Kitchen

You'll need:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup sugar [substitute with erythritol for a low-carb variation]
• pinch of salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 heaping tbsp cornstarch
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate

In a medium saucepan over medium flame, heat heavy cream and half and half. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, salt, and cocoa powder until blended and most of the clumps are gone.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Once chocolate cream mixture is warm, ladle a spoonful of the cream into the eggs and whisk continuously, to temper the eggs. Pour the now-warm egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk. Continue to whisk until the custard starts to bubble slightly. Remove saucepan from the heat and add in the unsweetened chocolate, whisking until melted.

Pour the custard into a food processor and blend for 60 to 90 seconds. This will eliminate any remaining clumps in the custard. Distribute the custard among glass bowls or ramekins. Cover the tops of the custards with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, 2-3 hours.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Still, it would probably be in my best interest to start that paper at some point today...

...well, maybe once this movie's over.