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In high school, my friend Emily and I would sometimes skip gym class for something far more important. We’d drive to her house to make Skippy peanut butter sandwiches on soft white bread. In between bites, we’d sip from tall glasses of chocolate Ovaltine stirred into whole milk. At my house, we had only natural peanut butter and sourdough bread and low-fat milk, and before this routine started, I had never tried Ovaltine. Naturally, this quickly became a hyper-fixation meal, and I would not turn it down right now (though due to a mild allergy I try to avoid peanuts these days—devastating.) Have you tried Ovaltine? It’s not exceptionally chocolatey for a chocolate-flavored beverage, so as a “dark chocolate or nothing” girl, every time I drink it I’m surprised by how much I love it. That, I suppose, is the power of malt extract.
Anyway, let’s talk about pudding. I am never not in the mood for pudding. Chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, rice: Give me any pudding and I’ll be a happy camper. It’s an ideal lunch dessert, as evidenced by Snack Pack and the like, but it’s also a very nice treat at the end of the day. And cheap! I rarely am without the necessary ingredients, and I bet you have most of them too (though if you need to shop, the amounts needed for the recipe will barely run you $5.)
Sweet, toasty Ovaltine makes an exceptional chocolate pudding, more reminiscent of lunch box treats than the rich, yolk-thickened budinos you’d find at a restaurant (for like $12 each), and that’s part of its charm. That said, I always promise not to make you buy something if you don’t want to, so check out the recipe for an version made with cocoa powder.
You’ll see that stirring in a couple ounces of chocolate is included in the recipe, but optional: technically this pudding can be made successfully without it, but it’ll lose some fudginess (and be slightly less chocolatey, of course). I think it’s worth the extra dollar, but obviously the choice is yours.
I like to top my nightly bowl of pudding with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a heavy sprinkle of flaky salt, in case you were wondering. Sometimes I crumble in gingersnaps or Biscoff cookies. Make a batch of this when you have a spare 15 minutes, set it aside to chill, and share a bowl with your Valentine.
Chocolate Ovaltine Pudding
Serves 4
If you don’t want to buy Ovaltine to make this, use 6 tablespoons (32g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder and ⅓ cup (67g) sugar. It’ll be missing a certain je ne sais quois (maltiness) but you’ll live. If you happen to have Milo, swap that in for the Ovaltine.
Ingredients
½ cup (47g) Ovaltine Chocolate Malt milk powder
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
2 cups (454g) whole milk1
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
⅓ cup (56g, 2 ounces) chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (I prefer 70% bittersweet dark chocolate, but use whatever you have; optional)
Flaky sea salt, for serving
Method
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the Ovaltine, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly whisk the in the milk and vanilla if using until smooth.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, 6 to 8 minutes (it will seem like nothing is happening at first, then will happen all at once.) Turn off the heat and whisk in the chocolate if using, the residual heat from the pudding will melt it.
If you like warm pudding (not me, but you do you!), serve immediately. For a chilled, more fudgy pudding, pour it (through a fine-mesh sieve if you want, to make sure there are no lumps) into a 1-quart baking dish (any 8- to 10-inch baking pan/pie plate will do). Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pudding to avoid forming a skin as it sets. Let cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
Give it a good stir before spooning into dishes, topped with flaky salt. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you have it, use 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy cream. I won’t make you buy a carton of each for the recipe, and all cream tends to overpower the flavor of Ovaltine, but I do recommend half cream if you happen to have a pint in the fridge already. If you don’t do dairy, use unsweetened soy, almond, or cashew milk. Canned coconut milk would probably be great too.