Mrs. Gould’s Baked Chocolate Pudding

This is a scrape-the-bottom-of-your-bowl-lick-your-spoon-clean kind of dessert. Make this for your friends or family, and the recipe will go viral. That’s how it went around here. I had the good fortune of experiencing this delicious treat from the hands of my sister-in-law, Amy Kunstle. It was a birthday party for John (Dave’s brother), and I had just come back to life after an episode of stomach flu in December that left me weak and with a serious aversion to food (of all things!). Let’s just say, it really doesn’t matter what you’ve been through. Once you experience the aroma of this chocolately pudding wafting through the air, YOU WANT IT. I begged for the recipe, and as any good daughter would do, shared it with my mom in her hour of need this past weekend. My parents were hosting several friends for dinner and I recommended this for dessert, but warned her that she would be crowned culinary genius once they had tasted it. I was right. And she was. The guests then demanded the recipe. So after ALL that talk of warm chocolate pudding, I had to make our own. The recipe is supposed to serve 10, but seriously, it’s not going to stretch that far unless you and your guests behave. And I don’t believe in restraint when it comes to dessert this good. The pudding bakes nicely with a soft crust, and then as you spoon it out, warm, thick, chocolately pudding reveals itself underneath. Sublime, and just perfect for this wintry weather.

Mrs. Gould’s Baked Chocolate Pudding

Recipe from Mrs. Phyllis Gould, dear friend and culinary “consultant” to the Landrum Family of Pueblo, Colorado. Mrs. Gould is 92 and continues to give solid advice on all things in the kitchen, with my sister-in-law, Amy Landrum Kunstle being a beneficiary of Mrs. Gould’s delicious recipes and helpful tips. Thank you dear Amy for sharing this gem!

Note: Serves 8-10 people, and if you are worried about fanatical chocolate lovers in the group, double the recipe! This takes about 10 minutes to prep, 45-60 minutes to bake, and 30 minutes required to rest and thicken before you can serve it. Plan ahead for all of that. It’s nice to serve it warm, but I suppose you can re-warm it for 5-10 minutes in the oven if you need to make it a few hours in advance. This is a very simple recipe to make, but be sure to follow the instructions exactly, including the use of very hot water in the recipe. It’s a chemistry experiment which will result in a thin cake with a thin chocolate sauce rather than a soft, light cake with thick chocolate pudding if conditions are changed in the recipe. Either way, it’s full of delicious chocolate, but if you are looking forward to spooning out thick pudding, do take care when putting it together! 

Preparation:

Whisk together the following with a rubber spatula, and smooth into a 8-inch square baking dish:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Now whisk together the following ingredients until smooth and pour over the pudding base:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 and 3/4 cup HOT water

Bake at 350° F for 45-60 minutes until a nice crust has formed (mine only needed 45 minutes). Remove from the oven and DO NOT panic. The crust will be be firm, but will ripple with movement from the molten hot pudding underneath. No need to bake it further. What it wants to do now is rest for about 30 minutes or so. As it rests, the pudding thickens.

After the pudding is done resting, spoon into bowls and serve just as it is, or feel free to add a dollop of whipped cream or a splash of a favorite liqueur.