Mexican Mocha Pudding

Pudding--it's surprisingly easy to make from scratch and it's sooo much better than Jell-O. I served this version--an amalgamation of a couple of Bon Apetit recipes with my own spin--at a Mexican-themed dinner the other night. I was really surprised how well it went over--I didn't realize that people love pudding so much. It's definitely an underrated dessert.

For this recipe I combined chocolate and coffee pudding with cinnamon whipped cream. It was a total experiment, so I had no idea if it was going to turn out, but everything worked great together! And it was fun...

Mocha Pudding

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Whisk sugar, cornstarch and espresso powder in a heavy medium saucepan to blend. Turn to medium heat and gradually whisk in the milk. Constatnly whisk until the mixture boils and thickens, around 3-4 minutes.
2. Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate chips, butter and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
3. Divide mixture among 6 small ramekins or glasses. Cover and chill pudding until cold, at least two hours.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 or more powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Chill bowl and beaters from an electric mixer in the freezer for at least 10 minutes before starting the whipped cream. (Keeping everything as cold as possible will help you get the right consistency.)
2. Mix the cream and vanilla in the chilled bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and cinnamon, making sure to break up clumps in the sugar.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until soft peaks form. Add more vanilla, powdered sugar and/or cinnamon to taste. Continue beating until raised peaks form and hold their shape.
   

*Add dollops of cinnamon whipped cream onto pudding just before serving. Dust with a light sprinkle of cinnamon.
*Serves 6
*You can keep the whipped cream covered in the fridge for a coule of hours, until you are ready to use it. If it's left for too long you may need to briefly beat it again.