SK week 25 | Chocolate Budino

We bid farewell to one of our sweet Tuesday Night Dinner friends this week. Josie is moving to Colorado and we're all going to miss her terribly! Our goodbye dinner was simple chicken on the grill with salad and roasted potatoes, but I decided to make something a little fancier for dessert. Deb had posted this chocolate budino a couple weeks ago and I knew it would fit the bill perfectly!

(Here's the Smitten Kitchen post)

You'll need:
5 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream (plus more to make whipped cream for topping)
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
two pinches sea salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
(Note: One recipe should make 8 small servings. I doubled it and made it into 12 bigger servings)

Finely chop your chocolate and set aside.

In a large pot, whisk the egg yolks and sugar well. 

Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, whisking the whole time. 

Ready to cook!

Slowly warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.

You want to keep cooking it like this until it thickens enough to coat your spoon or spatula. It takes a while, but if you're not patient you'll end up with scrambled eggs.

Strain the cream mixture over the chopped chocolate.

Stir to combine.

Add the butter, salt, and vanilla.

Mix well. 

Divide into your cups or ramekins. Refrigerate until cold and set. I made these in the morning for dessert that night. But they don't need that long--it's already quite pudding-consistency when it goes into the fridge.

Top with whipped cream and a wafer cookie. Serve to your sweet Denver-bound friend. ;)

Final verdict: Delicious. It's SO rich, though. Only a few people actually finished it. So maybe smaller servings are the way to go. But definite winner and really pretty easy. Perfect when you need something a little "fancier" than a pan of brownies. :)