If you were a chocolate, you would want this for dessert. Intense is an understatement. “Death by Chocolate,†a much more appropriate name compared with the original name coined by Francois Payard – “Chocolate Pudding Cake.†And bizarrely, it is INCREDIBLY EASY to make but your guests will think you have recently graduated from pastry school. It requires no baking, no flour, no fancy techniques. Just a lot of good chocolate, milk, sugar and eggs, butter and vanilla. If you love chocolate, this is the ultimate dessert. I take no responsibilities for the potential negative medical repercussions as a result of ingesting too much of this…
To make, assemble 14 ounces (400 grams) of good semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped. I used some of the huge block of Callebaut that we have in the pantry. Also 1 and 1/3 cups of whole milk, 2/3 cup of white or caster sugar, two large egg yolks, 1 pound of unsalted butter and 2 teaspoons of good vanilla (preferably not artificial). Some cocoa powder for dusting the final product; I found Valrhona cocoa powder at Cook’s Exchange. Place the chocolate in a medium-sized stainless bowl, already chopped. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and all of the sugar (except 2 tablespoons) and stir over medium heat until dissolved. Remove the milk when it starts to bubble at the edges. In a separate bowl whisk the two egg yolks with the remaining sugar, then add several tablespoons of the hot milk while whisking away. Then add the egg mixture back to the milk and whisk it vigorously over low heat until it thickens slightly. Payard recommends using a thermomenter to determine if it has reached 183F, but I didn’t bother. Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate and whisk until it is all melted and smooth. Whisk in the vanilla. Whisk in the butter (MUST BE at room temperature) in small cubes and keep adding it until all incorporated and smooth; yes, it needs THAT much butter!
Place the batter in a small round or oval pan (I made three of the ones in the photo) and wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 8 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, take the dessert out of the freezer and briefly plunge the pan into a warm bath to loosen the dessert and turn it over onto a serving platter. Use a spatula to make a pattern on the surface of the dessert and then sprinkle generously with cocoa. Let this stand for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. Do not serve this frozen, it doesn’t do the chocolate justice. It should slowly come down to room temperature for ideal taste. Give guests small slivers and watch them go nuts. We also served this sandwiched between fresh lenguas de gato and subsequently with boholano broas and they were an incredible hit. The recipe here is fully Francois Payard’s. I added some richness by substituting some of the milk with thickened cream. Absolutely delicious.
26 Responses
Oh wow and I was supposed to start my SBDiet. Well I got to have this first to bid goodbye to sweets.
MM, I wonder can you substitute low fat milk for the whole milk? CAn you use a vanilla bean instead of the liquid kind?
Must try this as i love chocolate. Thanks for posting the recipe. Have a blessed new year MM.
Sinful dessert the ratio is 1:1 of chocolate (14 ounces close to one pound) and butter and the rest of the ingredients combined together is a sure knockout! You hit the jackpot in this dessert no doubt about it. Have you tried using a template made out of a cardboard cut out in different geometric patterns and place on top of the pudding before sprinkling the powdered cocoa in a strainer for more visual appeal? They are easy to make and add a lot of beauty. Raspberry coulis is also a good accompaniment for this dessert.
MM,you’ve done it again! Happy New Year!
*sigh* I was keeping off the pounds.
And I just had to visit your site :)
Happy Holidays!
where can you get good vanilla nowadays? I dont see any on the shelves of the supermarket.
THANKS for this recipe, MM. I wouldn’t normally attempt anything by Payard till I was A LOT more skilled, but this looks like something I could actually do in the near future! I just hope I’m not being overconfident, and thus setting myself up for utter failure…
To MM, Mrs. MM, The Kid, The Crews and My Peers Best Wishes for the coming year!
It’s wonderful how you make everything appear so effortless and simple, with amazing results nonetheless. I’m getting inspired to cook-up an entire dinner for friends sometime soon. Happy New Year to you and your family! =)
To Marketman, Mrs.Marketman and the Kid,
A properous New Year and may you be continually bless by the Lord. Looking forward to another year of blogging news and hopefully another eyeball this comming year.
My husband would LOOOOOOVE this dessert — the only thing that would make it even better for him is if it were dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet. Would this work?
ces, they have real vanilla bean grown in Mindanao and possibly up North, you could make your own vanilla essence if you were inclined. Otherwise, you are right, I have only found artificial vanilla here except at the top bakeshop ingredients supplies houses like the ones in Mandaluyong… happy New Year to all!
bonggamom, yes, I think this would work with dark chocolate!
Happy New Year MM and family and of course your readers.
May i know where Cook’s Exchange is? thanks.
corrine, there are cook’s exchange stores at the basement of Rockwell Mall, third floor of Glorietta 4, and first floor of Megamall near Toy Kingdom…
Imagine if you tinker with it by adding orange liquer/grand marnier/baileys…
I think this more like the chocolate version of leche flan
Hi MM,
Long time no comment for me :) Happy new year, MM. The vanilla speak reminded me of my mad dash for this ingredient shortly before Christmas>> grocery shelves were all bare of vanilla, real or otherwise. Even the brands I won’t normally go for! Everyone was cooking up a storm.
I hope they’ve re stocked by now :)
RIa
where can i get good vanilla extract? i’ve been using mccormick since i’ve started baking.
To MM, Mrs. MM, The Kid, The Crew, and to all my sis and bros who are addicted to this blog especially yours truly, a Happy Happy New Year to all!!!
love..love ..love chocolate desserts
hi MM. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! this looks fantastic… where can we buy callebaut chocolate? and good vanilla???
Hi Marketman! I tried this last weekend and it was a hit with our guests. We weren’t able to source any broas in Tokyo though =( But my mother in law sent us pastry called ugoy-ugoy from Silay that worked just as well. Thanks for the reminder about the butter, i placed it near the heater while I was working; i remember, the last time I made sansrival in winter was a complete disaster! Haha!
Hi MM, I made this dessert yesterday out of curiosity, using Hershey semi-sweet baking chocolate. You’re right, this is deadly (what with 2 cups of butter !!!) but it tastes heavenly. Am sure chocoaddicts will love this dessert. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I think in the future, for parties, I’m going to make/serve them in indiviual mini glass containers. Thanks again.
Jean, try it with Valrhona the next time. I know it is pricier and snootier sounding, but it is NOTICEABLY better. Also, the best unsalted butter you can get your hands on. Because guests eat so little, it should be okay to splurge a little on the chocolate…glad you liked it!