Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

© Can Stock Photo/
roxanabalint

I had a ton of leftover cornstarch from a video project. We needed to recreate snow, and cornstarch works well as a snow substitute. However, once the video was in the can, I had to figure out what to do with all unused cornstarch. I gave a box to a friend, and I’ve been using it as a flour substitute in some of my cooking recipes. It’s worked well. I also prefer cornstarch over flour for sauces and gravies. All of this helped, but I still have a bunch of leftover cornstarch.

I soon found a pudding recipe that wasn’t bad, but of course I had to go in and make a few changes to make it better. It’s easy to prepare and it makes a tasty dessert. Best of all, you probably already have the ingredients in your pantries.

Gayle Martin

chocolate cornstarch pudding

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 3/4 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*

Stir sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt together in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk and turn heat to medium, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened enough to coat the spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let cool briefly, stirring occasionally as the pudding cools to avoid a skin forming on the top. Serve warm or chilled. A pat of butter may be added if serving warm.

*Almond or coconut extract may be used instead of vanilla.

 

Cover photo by Rob Resetar

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. During WWII, the United States government devised a food rationing program to help insure that every family would have enough to eat. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives readers a glimpse into life on the WWII home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one Rosies’s Riveting Recipes includes more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War II ration recipes and short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.