Issue #249: The Simplest Chocolate Pudding

When My Friend Laurent Tells Me Something Is Good, I Should Listen

There are benefits to having one of the world’s most respected chefs as a friend.

Laurent readying special ducks for the press in our NYC apartment.

Over the years that I’ve known Laurent Gras, I’ve enjoyed innumerable, unfathomably delicious meals, whether in the restaurants where he has worked, in the studios where we collaborated on a book and magazine articles, or in our home. These have ranged from the most complicated traditional French classics—canneton à la presse, pâté en croûte, bourride, pithiviers—to the most austere, deceptively simple Japanese dishes—sashimi, sushi, rice, cherry blossom tea—and everything in between. There have been truffles, lots of truffles, kilos of wagyu, what would amount to a school of fish flown in from Japan. Nobody’s crudo compares. He makes a pan-seared steak sing. His cakes and pastries and breads are heavenly.

Laurent’s galette des rois.

Laurent has taught me so much about cooking and baking. Although I don’t always move through the kitchen with the precision and focus that come second nature to him, the model of how he works is always in the back of my mind. Keep your work area neat. Trim the meat more closely. Strain the sauce, again. Admire the translucence of the flesh of the fresh fish. Don’t overwork the dough. The physical and mental feeling is similar to when I practice Taoist Tai Chi.

In 2020, I expressly asked Laurent to teach me how to bake sourdough bread. And years later, after having baked all of our bread week after week ever since, I am still amazed and full of gratitude when I pull a beautiful loaf out of the oven.

Baguette lesson, November 2020.

But the other day, when Laurent suggested Nate and I might like a new, simple chocolate pudding without any added sugar he was making at home for him and his wife Jennifer, I admit, I was skeptical.

He texted the recipe:

“Chocolate pudding: 300g barista oat milk (thicker) up to a simmer, pour over 300g Jivara chocolate (40%). Let set 10 minutes and emulsify with stick blender, keep the blade always submerged toward the bottom to avoid bringing air in the mixture. Divide in portion container with lid and refrigerate. Good for a week.”

An oat-milk, milk-chocolate ganache just didn’t sound that interesting. Still, Laurent is as passionate an eater as he is a cook—I believe there is an important correlation there. Nate likes chocolate pudding (though he doesn’t usually like milk chocolate). So, I decided to give it a try.

And we have had this pudding in our fridge ever since.

It’s hard to understand how something so simple can be so good. Key is the quality of the Jivara chocolate by Valrhona. Most milk chocolate has little chocolate flavor and no complexity. It just tastes sweet. Jivara makes the flavor and texture of this ganache rich and dreamy. What’s more, Jivara comes in feves, or small coins, that can be melted as is, without chopping. Easy peasy. The oat milk gives the pudding structure without interfering with the chocolate flavor or making it overly rich. This pudding is the definition of synergy, the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Like Laurent, I divide the pudding into individual serving-size containers to set—I use 4-ounce mason jars. I find it keeps longer than a week (if you can resist). A dollop of whipped cream and a spoonful of fruit sauce (see Issue #8) make for a deeply satisfying dessert.

RECIPE: Laurent’s Simple Chocolate Pudding

Makes 8 four-ounce servings

• 300 g (1 1/4 cups) barista-style oat milk

• 300 g (11 ounces) Jivara milk chocolate (by Valrhona)

• Whipped cream and fruit sauce (see Issue #8), optional

Pour the oat milk into a small saucepan and set over medium heat to bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, place the chocolate feves in a tall quart container. As soon as the oat milk simmers, pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender submersed in the container, emulsify the ganache, moving the blender around but keeping it toward the bottom of the container, being careful not to bring it above the surface to avoid aerating the mixture. (You aren’t making a mousse.).

When the mixture is fully emulsified, remove the blender. If there are air bubbles on the surface, dab it with a folded piece of paper towel to deflate them. Divide the mixture amonge eight 4-ounce containers. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving with whipped cream and/or fruit. The pudding will last up to two weeks.

Gratitude: Thanks to everyone who read to the end of last week’s newsletter and clicked on the heart to like and/or comment on the post. Much appreciated. —MD