Shaker Gourmet: Sugar-Free Chocolate Pudding

Sorry I'm late with getting this up! Our recipe this week comes from Shaker Arkades:

Sugar-Free Chocolate Pudding
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup Splenda® brand sweetener
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 cups milk (I usually use skim)

Combine the dry ingredients in a saucepan and whisk until thoroughly blended. (According to the sugary recipe from which I adapted this sugar-free variant, the dry pudding mix can be stored for up to a month in an airtight container in the fridge, though I usually just mix up as much as I need, just as I need it.)

Add the milk to the dry ingredients in the saucepan and whisk until well mixed; there may be a few lumps of dry cocoa in the mix, but most of the powder should be moistened and have attained a liquid-like consistency.

Warm the saucepan over medium heat until the mixture reaches a simmer, whisking as needed. (Whisk constantly for absolute best results, though once every couple of minutes usually turns out fine until the pan is simmering.)

Once the mixture is simmering and has thickened slightly, reduce the heat and set a timer for the amount of time you wish to stir (see below) and begin whisking continuously to prevent the mixture from burning on the bottom of the saucepan.

Once the timer goes off, or as soon as your pudding has reached a desirable consistency, pour the hot pudding into containers with lids and place in the fridge for an hour or so to chill and 'set'. (Or, enjoy immediately as a sugar-free hot fudge topping. Yummy!) The pudding will thicken upon standing.

In the fridge, the pudding will thicken yet more, possibly gaining a toothsome 'soft fudge' consistency. There will probably be some condensed water (formerly steam) inside the containers when you dig them out of the fridge; I usually pour off the excess water rather than stir it back in because I prefer the firmer fudge-like texture.

SO HOW LONG SHOULD I STIR WHILE IT SIMMERS?

If you like a creamier pudding, stop stirring-and-simmering somewhere around the 3.5 - 4 minute mark; the texture will seem a bit too liquid at first, but should firm up to creamy as the pudding cools. If (like me) you prefer a thicker pudding that you can sink your teeth into (kind of like a soft-set fudge, really), keep stirring longer, somewhere between 4 and 5 minutes. The pudding will look like 'normal' creamy pudding as you pour and will firm up even more in the fridge to assume a fudgy semi-solid state. Chocolate bliss, with only a teensy bit of guilt!

Arkades notes, "This goes great with cashews, almonds, or walnuts, though of course it is thoroughly excellent all by itself!". If you'd like to participate in Shaker Gourmet, email me at: shakergourmet (at) gmail.com