Mint Chocolate Pudding Pots

These almost look too cute to eat.

But when you think about what they’re made of (mint chocolate pudding covered with crumbles of The World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie- yes, meant to look like dirt), you rip out the mint sprig garnish and go to town on the little pots of cuteness. You can even eat the edible flower garnish, so you won’t be slowed down by having to pick that out. More good news.

Note: unless you plan to make an insane amount of pudding + dirt pots, you’ll have extra brownie crumbles and pudding. This is a very, very good thing, because you can freeze the brownie crumbles and serve them when the moment strikes you (like on ice cream, on your cereal, in a milkshake, or by the handful- right out of the bag)… and as for the pudding, well, we all know you’ll figure out how to take care of those extras (like on ice cream, in your cereal, in a milkshake, or by the handful. Don’t knock it till you’ve done it.).

Adapted from my World’s Best Fudge Brownie & Rich Chocolate Pudding recipes…

BROWNIE CRUMBLE:

4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate (the better the chocolate, the better the brownie)

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla

3 lightly beaten eggs

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Optional: 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Optional: 1 cup lightly toasted nuts &/or chocolate chips

MINT CHOCOLATE PUDDING:

3 cups whole milk, room temperature

1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, plus additional mint sprigs for garnish

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca (or corn starch)

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 ounces finely chopped semisweet OR bittersweet chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon Kahlua (or any kind of coffee liqueur… optional anyway)

CRYSTALLIZED SUGAR FLOWERS (recipe from Food Network):

2 egg whites, room temperature

1 teaspoon water

12 edible flowers (pick the ones that look the prettiest)

1 cup superfine sugar
1. BROWNIE CRUMBLE:
  1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 13″ foil-lined pan.
  2. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
  3. Stir in sugar, then vanilla, then eggs, then salt, espresso powder (optional) & flour.
  4. Stir in nuts &/or chocolate chips if you so desire.
  5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 33 minutes (until center is just set).
  6. Chill completely in fridge (minimum of 5 hours). Break into chunks and pulse in food processor until crumby.*
2. PUDDING:
  1. In a medium heavy saucepan, heat milk over medium-high heat until not quite boiling. Stir mint leaves in, remove from heat, and allow to steep for about 15 minutes. Strain milk through a fine mesh sieve and discard mint leaves.
  2. Combine dry ingredients into a stainless steel bowl (or in the top portion of a double boiler) and slowly whisk in mint-steeped milk. Place bowl/top of double boiler over a pot of simmering water and whisk every couple of minutes for 15 minutes. Mixture will begin to thicken; add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Remove bowl from heat and add vanilla.
  3. Strain through a fine mesh sieve (into a bowl with a spout for easy pouring, if you happen to have), then pour equally into 6 small ramekins or bowls- ideally clear glass so you can see the pudding and brownie “dirt” on top.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap so that wrap is pressed against surface of pudding; chill for an hour and sprinkle brownie crumbles over top. Keep chilled.
3. CRYSTALLIZED FLOWERS:
  1. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg whites and water together with a fork. Dip a paint brush in egg whites and gently paint a flower – covering the petals thoroughly but not excessively. While still wet, gently sprinkle the coated petals with superfine sugar. Place the crystallized flowers on a parchment-lined pan and allow to dry for 12-24 hours. When ready to serve, place onto the surface of brownie crumbles along with a mint sprig. Voila!
Tips:
- *If brownies aren’t chilled enough, they will get mucky and gooey in your food processor. You can always freeze chunks of the block of baked brownie and then throw in the food processor- that always works. I like to process until some pieces are the size of peas and most others are smaller.
- More brownie tips can be found on the original post.
- Don’t like mint? Skip it.
- Bittersweet or semisweet in the pudding- it’s a tough call. Flip a coin and there’s your answer.
- Lazy? Skip the flower and mint thing and just serve the pudding with the brownie crumbles on top. Still stunning.
- Mint tip: stick into the “soil” just before serving, or the sprig will start to fall over (like in the picture above).
- The brownie pieces freeze well but the pudding… not so much.
- Enjoy!
Click Here to PRINT This Recipe Now!
Related Recipes & Posts:
May 7th, 2016 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Chocolate, Goopy, Unidentifiable!