Chocolate Budino with Candied Walnuts (A cross between a cake and a pudding)

This delicious chocolate pudding is by far the best dessert I’ve ever made. I found it in the September 2018 issue of bon appetit magazine, which just happens to be one of my favorite magazines. It’s not as much of a “budget” recipe as I usually feature but oh my gosh it is so rich and decadent, it’s worth the price, especially for a special occasion. I actually made it for my husband’s 60th birthday and it was THE HIT of the evening.

The recipe says you can garnish with salted caramel gelato or ice cream but believe me, it doesn’t need any extra anything! It also says the recipe makes 6 servings (served in 8-12-oz. glasses,) but I actually stretched it out to 10 servings per recipe using smaller dishes. As I said earlier, it’s super rich and all our guests said it was the perfect serving-size. The recipe directions look lengthy but the actual process isn’t super complicated or timely. And I love that you can make this up to 3 days ahead, keeping chilled, which made this a perfect choice for a party.

*My picture does not do justice but because it was eaten so quickly, I didn’t have a chance to re-shoot any pictures!

CHOCOLATE BUDINO WITH CANDIED WALNUTS

(from bon appetit magazine, September 2018 issue)

Candied Walnuts –

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Kosher salt

Budino and Assembly –

Ingredients:

1 cup bittersweet chocolate wafers (disks, pistoles, feves; preferably 70%-74% cacao) or 5 oz. chocolate, finely chopped) FYI…pistoles are bean-shaped chocolate and feves are oval-shaped discs with indents in the center.

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

6 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

salted caramel gelato or ice cream (for serving; optional)

CANDIED WALNUTS DIRECTIONS:

Bring sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally to dissolve sugar. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, add walnuts and bring syrup back up to a simmer. Cook, swirling saucepan occasionally for even cooking, until walnuts look slightly translucent and are softened, 30-35 minutes.

Drain walnuts in a mesh sieve and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle walnuts with salt.

Place a rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Bake walnuts in oven, stirring once or twice, until well browned, 15-18 minutes. Let cool, then break up into small pieces.

Do Ahead…Walnuts can be candied 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

BUDINO AND ASSEMBLY:

Place chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring cream and milk to a bare simmer in a large saucepan and remove from heat.

Vigorously whisk egg yolks and sugar in another medium bowl until pale yellow and sugar is dissolved (rub between fingers to check), about 2 minutes.

Gradually pour cream mixture into egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously. Immediately pour egg yolk mixture into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula and making sure to get into the corners of the pan, until an instant-read thermometer registers 175 degrees (custard should be thick enough to coat a spoon; do not let it simmer or allow thermometer to go above 180 degrees).

Pour custard over reserved chocolate and let sit until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender or a whisk, blend until well emulsified (if using a whisk, you may want to strain budino through a fine-mesh sieve after to ensure a silky texture). Add kosher salt and 1 tablespoon oil to chocolate mixture and blend to incorporate.

Divide budino evenly among six 8-12-oz. glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

Top each budino with candied walnuts, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and drizzle with a little oil. Serve with scoops of gelato if desired.

Do Ahead…Budinos (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

** I made this 3 times since I wanted to test it before the party. The first batch was perfect! The second batch didn’t gel, even after being in the fridge overnight. I am pretty sure it’s because I didn’t let it cook long enough and I didn’t use my thermometer the second time, feeling over-confident with the first success. And with the first and third (also successful) batches I let the pudding mixture cool slightly before putting in the fridge.