4 cups Whole Raw Milk
2 tablespoons of Grass Fed Butter
A good sized splash or three of Heavy Cream
Vanilla extract to taste, I like to put a few splashes
A pinch of Salt
2-3 Tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
1/2-1 cup Coconut Sugar
1/2-1 cup Cacao Powder
1 cup Chocolate Chips [or chopped chocolate bar, must be at least 70% cacao]
2 whisked Eggs

Combine first 5 ingredients in a fitting pot over low/med heat [err on the side of low]
Slowly whisk in the next 3 ingredients in small portions, through a sieve and in order that they appear.
Your mixture should be getting warm by now, and you may add the Chocolate Chips, whisking constantly so that nothing burns to the bottom.
When your mixture is very warm and beginning to thicken, slowly drizzle & whisk in your whisked eggs.
Continue whisking and heating slowly until your pudding feels thick. You will probably see tiny little bubbles wanting to form if you stop stirring at any point. Once it’s thickened or you see the tiny bubbles, remove from heat, pour into jars, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

A few notes:

You may notice that there’s quite a large window for some ingredients, and that’s because those are based on your preference. I personally, enjoy very dark chocolate, I often buy 90% or above, so I like to add an entire cup of cacao powder for this recipe. If that’s not your thing, bring it down to 1/2 c. When I make this for myself, I know that I like it thick, creamy, and not too sweet, so I add very little sweetener, but you can add as much as you like! I highly recommend periodic finger dips for taste and temperature assessments.

Generally I make this pudding with a base of Heavy cream, and I use Lily’s Chocolate bars or chips, butter, and a few tablespoons of Lakanto Golden Monkfruit. If you’re using Heavy Cream there’s no need for thickeners, like Arrowroot, you simply use one chopped up chocolate bar per cup of liquid, and it thickens beautifully, also a much richer taste. Or you can add another egg, but then you’ll probably want a bit more sweetener, and cacao, to keep the flavor even.

I also have a super easy vegan version using Coconut Cream, and Tapioca Starch, or Arrowroot Powder to thicken. Arrowroot and Tapioca are both heat activated, so you always want to introduce them slowly, while whisking into cool or tepid base, so that they don’t have time to gel up before incorporating. But keep in mind that unlike using wheat flour to thicken, you will have to wait for the entire mixture to heat up in order to bring out the full extent of thickening in Arrowroot or Tapioca.

I’ve sweetened this pudding with Stevia, Maple Syrup, Honey, Date Syrup, Coconut Nectar, Coconut Sugar, Cane Sugar, Lakanto Golden Monkfruit, and Lankanto ‘Maple’ Syrup. I’m pretty confident that you can substitute just about any sweetener with similar results. I base my sweetener off of availability, who I’m making it for, or personal preference, and this is a recipe, where it just truly doesn’t matter! Follow your heart.

I’ve made this so many different ways by now, each time a bit different. The good news, is that all of the varietals were delicious. This was my most recent go, I made it for a friend’s birthday, because she’s the one who inspired me learning how to make it in the first place. When she was pregnant she had pudding cravings and would buy Petit Pots from Whole Foods. Then I came over with my own cravings and she gave me her last one. It was amazing. So I started buying them for rare treats, but that didn’t last long since they’re roughly $2.50 an ounce. So I bought all the ingredients and started testing recipes. I have many, many different versions that are excellent.

I make this for parties, and gatherings a lot, because I’m a very poor planner, so I always need a quick put together. This is fast, foolproof, and always a crowd pleaser. If you have questions about substitutions, please ask, I’ve probably tried it already, and may be able to offer tips, or a full recipe!