Homemade Chocolate Pudding with Meringue

This was my favorite dessert when I was growing up. Mom made it often because, living on a farm, she always had everything on hand to make it.

Ingredients:

Thickened Pudding

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs, divided

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

After Baking Meringue

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, cocoa, flour and salt until well blended. Divide eggs, reserving whites for meringue. Whisk egg yolks into milk. Add milk and egg mixture to dry ingredients and whisk to blend and remove all lumps. Place saucepan on stove top with medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly as mixture thickens. When thick enough to coat a spoon, remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter and stir to blend. Pour into casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes, or until pudding has set.

Remove from oven and top with meringue. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown. May be served warm or chilled. Serves 4 - 6.

Notes:

Ready to Serve

The recipe can be doubled or tripled with good results.
If you skip the meringue, don’t add egg whites to pudding. They cause a grainy texture.

The best utensil for stirring the pudding is an egg turner with a flat edge that scrapes the bottom of the saucepan.

Watch the pudding carefully. “Stir constantly” means just that! 

If don't care for meringue, use butter to dot the top of the pudding before baking so it becomes a melted butter sauce. Whipped topping or ice cream may also be substituted for the meringue.

Meringue

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
6 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Place egg whites in mixing bowl of electric mix at high speed, and beat until stiff peaks form. Mix sugar with cream of tartar, and add to beaten egg whites, one spoonful at the time on medium speed. Beat at high speed until sugar dissolves. Spread over the top of the pudding or pie. Bake at 400°F for ten minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Notes:

Room temperature eggs whites will beat up into thicker, taller meringue.

If you don’t have cream of tartar, you can make meringue without it. The cream of tartar only stiffens the whites.

The secret to great meringue is to beat the whites until they form extremely stiff peaks, and only then add sugar.

You can make a meringue of any size by using a ratio of 2 tablespoons of sugar per egg white.

To test whether sugar has dissolved, rub a small amount between thumb and forefinger. If you feel sugar grains mix a bit longer.

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Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

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Southern Pecan Pie

Pecan pie (pronounced “puh-khan” where I live) is a holiday tradition in the South. I make two of these incredibly rich, wonderfully tasty desserts for Thanksgiving every year, plus two for Christmas—one is never enough! Vintage recipes for these pies were concocted to use the pecans native to the lower U.S., also the sugar cane syrup, butter and eggs plentiful in rural areas. My version came from my mom, who found it on a dark Karo corn syrup bottle in the Fifties, but has been adapted to my family’s taste.

Pecan Pie with Fluted Crust

Homemade pie crust is always better, but if pressed for time, I put a fluted edge on a crust from the diary case. Few notice the difference – or are too polite to mention it! I’m including my crust recipe in case you want to experiment. Whatever you do, enjoy!

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, whisked

4 tablespoons butter, melted

¾ cup sugar

1 cup dark Karo corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, salt, syrup, vanilla and butter. Add whisked eggs and mix well. Add pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell.

Bake in center of oven for 60 – 70 minutes, until pie crust edges are brown and pecan filling is firm in the middle.

Notes:

Oven temperatures vary. If the crust appears to be browning too fast, cover the edges with aluminum foil.

Pie filling will deflate as it cools, forming a flat, candy-like crust on top on the pie.

Cane syrup may be substituted for the dark Karo corn syrup.

Real butter and real vanilla make the best pie.

Pecans may be left whole, broken, chopped or ground fine, as desired.

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

½ cup shortening’

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons ice water

Directions:

Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl. Add shortening and cut into flour with a pastry blender. Add ice water, and mix lightly until it forms a dough ball. Roll out on a floured surface to approximately 1 ½ inches larger than your pie plate. Place in the plate. Trim away excess dough and crimp the edge with a fork, or leave the excess dough and create a fluted edge.  

To make a fluted pie crust edge: Roll out the pie crust dough to form a circle approximately 1 ½ inches larger than your pie plate. Place the uncooked crust into the plate with excess draped over the rim. Lightly press the crust into the plate so it takes the plate form and there are no air pockets under it. Fold the excess crust under all the way around the pie plate rim to form a small ridge. Place the side of your index finger on the crust ridge at an angle and gently pinch the dough ridge with your thumb. Place thumb in the indentation just made, press down with your index finger at an angle as before, and pinch with your thumb again. Continue around the crust in this manner until you reach your starting point. The placement of your index finger doesn't matter as long as it’s held at approximately the same angle each time you press down. Practice makes this a fast and easy embellishment.

Notes:

For a flakier crust, place bowl with flour, salt and cut-in shortening in the freezer overnight.

Overworking the dough will toughen it; handle as little as possible.

For more varieties of pecan pies, also different pie crust edgings, see my Pinterest Board, “For Love of Pie”: http://pinterest.com/jblakeauthor/for-love-of-pie/

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Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

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