Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Pudding

makes 4 servings

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups whole milk

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (just ½ cup sugar if using regular cocoa powder)

1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

4 teaspoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

3 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean

2 Earl Grey tea bags

Preparation:

Place 2 cups milk in a medium saucepan with  sugar and cocoa powder.  Heat over medium heat until steaming and warm.  You don’t necessarily have to boil the mixture, just heat it up and whisk it together. Add your 2 tea bags into the mixture.  Turn the heat off and let the mixture steep for about 10 minutes.  Squeeze liquid from tea bags into the pot and discard tea bags.  If your chocolate mixture has cooled a bit at this point, reheat it just until warm.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ½ cup milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla extract.  Drizzle about half of the steaming hot chocolate milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  This will temper the eggs, making them a bit warm before they’re cooked over a flame.  Return all of the chocolate, milk, egg mixture back to the saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, whisking nearly constantly.  Make sure the get into the corners of the pan where the pudding might stick and overcook.

When pudding starts to boil, continue to whisk and boil for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Pudding will thicken.  Don’t decide to stick your finger in to taste it.  That would be a mistake (trust me). Remove from heat and spoon into 4 ramekins or jars.  Cover with plastic wrap (on the surface of the pudding if you want to avoid pudding skin).  Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Lavender-Vanilla Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 pint heavy cream

2 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar

½ vanilla bean

pinch of salt

1 fresh lavender flower or 1 tsp dried lavender

Preparation:

Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and turn the flame on low.  Heat the cream just until it is warm, then turn the flame off.  Drop in your lavender.  Let the cream/flower mixture steep for about 15 minutes.

Strain the mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Whip together heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean, and a pinch of salt.  Dollop over cold pudding and serve.