The other of two desserts that I made for this year’s Thanksgiving (TGV 2016) was 15-49: Chocolate Pudding Deluxe (the first was 16-52: Apple Nut Saucepan Torte). With my family, it’s REQUIRED that there be a chocolate dessert option when having a big dinner, so I decided to give this one a whirl–I thought it’d be a nice contrast of flavors and textures when compared to the other options (the aforementioned torte and a pumpkin pie my mom made). ?
This was the third dish I made, continuing the Wednesday 11/23 portion of my holiday cooking marathon. Since the pudding needed to chill, I thought letting it rest in the fridge overnight would give it the best chance of holding together when served the next day. ?
Other dishes I made on this night (Wed. 11/23): the dressing for 1-10: Seafood Louisiana Cocktail, cranberry sauce, 16-52: Apple Nut Saucepan Torte, and a roasted garlic & herb butter to serve with 17-5: Hot Seedy Rolls.
This was a tricky dish to try to make lactose-free–milk isn’t a problem, but there’s really no good solution for LF whipped cream. I could have gotten one of the non-dairy substitutes from the market, but I didn’t plan well for that ahead of time, and just tried to make do with what I had.
Ingredients. I went with raspberries and blackberries for my garnishing fruits, and Grand Marnier for my dark rum/OJ concentrate option (which is what THEY show in their picture). I had LF half-and-half, and decided to make a whipped cream attempt with that. Unfortunately, nothing worked that well, and I ended up putting the half-and-half in as-is, which is why they might have been a bit runny in texture.
Stiffened the gelatin with water.
Heated up some of the morning’s leftover coffee to add to the gelatin.
Separated the eggs.
Combined the eggs and sugar in the stand mixer.
Melted the chocolate (without grating, because I’m lazy) in the milk.
Combined the two mixtures into the stand mixer bowl for easier mixing.
Poured the mixture back into the saucepan and heated it while whisking.
Washed out the mixer bowl and whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks. The true test? Hold it upside down–if nothing moves, your whites are ready.
Folded the meringue slowly into the chocolate mixture.
Filled a mini cake pan instead of a large cake pan with the pudding–I think these could be cool individual servings if it works out.
Filled each up and placed it in the fridge overnight to stiffen and cool. Fingers crossed…
Not the best, but not the worst either. The texture was a bit runny (probably due to warm conditions and lack of whipped cream), but the taste wasn’t bad. With some fresh berries and some vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream, it made a decent chocolate dessert.
Grade: A-
Interested in the full list of Simply Delicious dishes I made for 2016’s Thanksgiving feast?
- 4-27: Mushroom-Parsnip Au Gratin
- 16-52: Apple Nut Saucepan Torte
- 15-49: Chocolate Pudding Deluxe
- 1-10: Seafood Cocktail Louisiana
- 17-5: Hot Seedy Rolls
- 1-5: Pigs in a Blanket
- 6-29: Stuffed Turkey (includes gravy & stuffing)
