Silky Chocolate Pudding

Liat and Dick always wanted chocolate pudding. I needed to find a richer, smoother recipe for them, and the one below fits the bill. I'm sure your family will enjoy it as well.

½ cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp instant coffee (optional)

2 cups whole milk

10 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate (Lindt tradition; Valrhona)

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

½ cup whipping cream (NOT heavy whipping cream)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Whisk cornstarch, sugar and milk in a saucepan together until smooth. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Add chocolate, butter and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Divide among 6 ramekins and chill, about 2 hours.

Whip the cream and sugar (I'd use a full cup, being a whipped cream fanatic, and double the sugar) until soft peaks. Top each chocolate pudding with whipped cream and serve.