My mum always said that a real foodie is the one who will not only gorge on food all day but also put in efforts to curate new dishes to satisfy their palate. Hankering for chocolate can strike at any time.

This random craving paved its way during the lockdown. Being someone who never measured ingredients while experimenting, I was done baking cakes, donuts, cupcakes, mug cakes, etc. The desire to whip up a new dish to satiate my taste-buds was hovering over me. I decided to prepare something new and easy.

Thus began a treasure hunt in my kitchen.

The base ingredient was dark chocolate. Milk and sugar go hand in hand. I had some fresh cream and cacao powder too. Now I could have just mixed them all and prepared a dense hot chocolate but my gustatory system of taste demanded a different texture.

I gave it some thought, looked around, opened a few cabinets, and there it was, the ingredient that would provide just the texture that I was looking for to my dish – ‘cornstarch’.

Cornstarch or cornflour is an ingredient used for binding and bringing your dish together and has no flavor of its own.

This catalyst was going to turn my dense hot chocolate into a delicious Chocolate Pudding.

I mixed my dry ingredients – 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, half a cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of cacao powder together with the help of a whisk, and added a pinch of salt as it enhances the flavor.

Next, I poured in approximately 400 ml of milk (slowly) and whisked it nonstop to avoid the formation of any lumps. This mixture was then transferred to my saucepan and stirred continuously with a spatula on medium heat till it transformed into a batter-like consistency.

Next, I reduced the flame to low, added about 60 grams of chopped dark chocolate, and 2 tablespoons of fresh cream. I kept stirring it furiously for a minute or two and turned the flame off. I let it cool to room temperature, transferred it into small bowls, and placed them in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 hours.

I ended up having my gooey chocolate pudding for dessert which I garnished by sprinkling some cacao powder with the help of a small strainer. Needless to say that I licked the bowl clean and ahem, it was one of the best foodgasms ever!