Chocolate Pudding Cups

Ingredients 

 Makes 6 dessert bowls 

 For the Chocolate Pastry Cream Pudding:

 1 cup milk 

2 egg yolks 

2 tbsp corn starch 

¼ cup sugar 

2 tsp salted butter 

½ tsp vanilla essence 

1 slab dark chocolate – broken into small bits (reserve some for topping) 

 Topping :

½ cup whipping cream or spray can of whipped cream 

4 oz dark chocolate - grated 

 Directions 

To make the chocolate pudding: Mix the sugar and corn starch in a small bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks, beating until light in colour. Heat the milk in a saucepan over high heat to bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Temper the egg yolk mixture with the heated milk. (Slowly pour about half of the milk into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously, then pour back into the milk saucepan, again whisking vigorously). Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Add the bits of chocolate and mix gently till the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla essence. Immediately pour this through the strainer. Let it cool for about 5-7 minutes. 

Beat the whipping cream till stiff peaks form. Keep in the refrigerator for later use. You can also use a ready-made can of whipped cream. Once the chocolate pudding has cooled slightly, pour a large spoon full of pudding into dessert bowls and distribute evenly till all is used up. Keep in refrigerator to cool for a couple of hours. 

Just before serving, top with a dollop of whipped cream and grated chocolate.