Creamy Cuban Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

Cuban Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding is a delicious, comforting, and really simple dessert that shows, in a way, the resourcefulness of Cuban cooking, where there have long been all sorts of restrictions when it comes to ingredients. Also known as natilla or chocolate maizena, this pudding is made with milk, egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, chocolate, and cornstarch, which give it a smooth, creamy texture. It is basically a rich, chocolatey take on a classic cornstarch pudding, lovely served warm on a cold night, or left to cool in a little bowl and enjoyed chilled in the summer, simple and delicious.

Like with most cornstarch puddings, it is just a matter of mixing everything together, putting it on the stove, and stirring slowly until you get a thick, velvety consistency. For an authentic finishing touch, many Cubans dust cinnamon, chocolate, or even cocoa powder over the pudding before serving, for that extra special something.

This kind of pudding is also easy to adjust to your taste, a bit more cornstarch if you like a denser texture, a darker chocolate and less sugar for a more grown up version. Also, as I mentioned above, letting the pudding cool gives it an even firmer, more delicious consistency. Whether you serve it still warm or nice and chilled, a Cuban Chocolate Pudding is a real chocolate treat perfect for… well anyone! ;D Let’s check the recipe!

Creamy Cuban Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

Servings: 6-8
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: Easy
Rating: ★★★★★
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You really cant go wrong with this kind of cornstarch pudding, easy and fast to make and if you use like chocolate milk its chocolate milk flavored if you use better chocolate is better chocolate flavored heheheh ;D

Ingredients

Cornstarch – 120g (Maizena)
Sugar – 120g
Milk – 1000ml (Semi-skimmed)
Cocoa Powder – 125g
Vanilla Extract – 1 teaspoon
Egg Yolks – 3
Salt – A pinch
Cinnamon – For sprinkling (Optional)
Cocoa Powder – For sprinkling (Optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, add the cornstarch, vanilla, and egg yolks. Then add a little room temperature milk (about 150ml, subtract this amount from the total milk) and mix.
Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan, followed by the sugar and cocoa powder. Bring everything to a medium heat and stir constantly.
When the milk starts to get warm (not boiling), reduce the heat to low. Slowly pour a little of the warm milk into the bowl with the milk/cornstarch/vanilla/egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Do this to warm the mixture before adding it to the hot milk in the saucepan. If you add it without warming it, you risk the cornstarch thickening without spreading throughout the liquid and the egg yolks curdling without being well dissolved in the milk. Add only enough to warm the mixture until it is lukewarm.
Now, slowly pour this warm mixture back into the pan with the milk and chocolate, stirring constantly over low heat.
Continue stirring; this should take about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken. You’ll notice it immediately. Let it cook for another minute until it’s really creamy and thick.

And that’s it! You can serve it in soup bowls sprinkled with cocoa powder or cinnamon, or you can pour it into individual ramekins, let it cool, and then refrigerate it to have some beautiful puddings. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips: Whether you serve it hot or cold, only dust it with cinnamon or cocoa right before serving, not before, or it’ll just sink in and disappear. If you run into a little disaster and the mixture curdles, immediately lower the heat to the minimum and go over the whole mixture well with an immersion blender, this won’t fix the texture 100%, it’ll always be a touch more grainy instead of silky and smooth, but it’ll be a lot better, and you won’t have to toss it out.

Keep in mind that a lot of store bought puddings are exactly this, cornstarch based puddings. The difference is that since they usually skip the egg yolks and rely on cheap chocolate and flavorings, the taste ends up more basic, and they’re nowhere near as creamy and rich as when you make it this way.

Use a heavy bottomed pot if you have one, it heats more evenly and makes scorching less likely. Keep the heat low and be patient, rushing this on high heat is the main way pudding turns lumpy or scrambled. If you want an even smoother finish, you can strain the mixture through a fine sieve right after it thickens, before pouring it into serving bowls. Pressing a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding while it cools in the fridge will stop that thick skin from forming on top, if that’s not your thing (i kinda like it!).

This recipe for Creamy Cuban Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Pudim Cubano de Chocolate e Maizena foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.