Chocolate Peppermint Pudding
In less than 15 minutes. Seriously! This treat is worth the indulgence. Puddings thickened with tapioca are dead easy — practically foolproof, in fact — and fairly quick.
Start with half-and-half (best is cream), or at least whole milk. Don’t skimp on the quality of the chocolate. You can use powder but I prefer to chop up a small square of good quality dark chocolate.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups cream or whole organic milk or 1/2 of each
- .25 cups honey even a little less and it will still be sweet enough
- 1 pinch refined salt I love Himalayan salt
- 1 bean vanilla bean or 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp organic tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp unsalted organic butter softened (optional but really makes it delicious)
- 1 ounce high quality dark chocolate small square
- 3-4 drops peppermint extract or two peppermint leaves (remove leaves before step 2)
Instructions
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Put 2 cups of cream or milk, honey, chocolate and salt in a small or medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. If using a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into milk or half-and-half using small sharp knife, then add pod. Cook just until mixture begins to steam.
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Combine tapioca and remaining milk or cream in a bowl and blend; there should be no lumps. Fish pod from pot and discard. Add tapioca mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick. Stir in peppermint oil, butter and vanilla extract, if using.
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Pour mixture into a 1-quart dish or 4 to 6 small ramekins or bowls. Refrigerate until chilled, and serve within a day, with whipped cream if you like.