This deliciously wobbly, very special pudding isn’t thickened with cornstarch or gelatin. Instead, it’s made with chocolate, milk, cream, and eggs and spiked with olive oil and salt, which complement the bittersweet and fruity flavors of the chocolate. To die for! This recipe is from Che Fico in San Francisco, CA, our No. 7 Best New Restaurant 2018.
Ingredients
Makes 6
Candied Walnuts
½
1
Budino and Assembly
1
1
1
6
¼
¾
1
Preparation
Candied Walnuts
Step 1
Bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally to dissolve sugar. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, add walnuts and bring syrup back up to a simmer. Cook, swirling saucepan occasionally for even cooking, until walnuts look slightly translucent and are softened, 30–35 minutes.
Step 2
Drain walnuts in a mesh sieve and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle walnuts with salt.
Step 3
Place a rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 300°. Bake walnuts in oven, stirring once or twice, until well browned, 15–18 minutes. Let cool, then break up into small pieces.
Step 4
Do Ahead: Walnuts can be candied 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Budino and Assembly
Step 5
Place chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring cream and milk to a bare simmer in a large saucepan and remove from heat.
Step 6
Vigorously whisk egg yolks and sugar in another medium bowl until pale yellow and sugar is dissolved (rub between fingers to check), about 2 minutes.
Step 7
Gradually pour cream mixture into egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously. Immediately pour egg yolk mixture into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula and making sure to get into the corners of the pan, until an instant-read thermometer registers 175° (custard should be thick enough to coat a spoon; do not let it simmer or allow thermometer to go above 180°).
Step 8
Pour custard over reserved chocolate and let sit until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender or a whisk, blend until emulsified (if using a whisk, you may want to strain budino through a fine-mesh sieve after to ensure a silky texture). Add kosher salt and 1 Tbsp. oil to chocolate mixture and blend to incorporate.
Step 9
Divide budino evenly among six 8–12-oz. glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
Step 10
Top each budino with candied walnuts, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and drizzle with a little oil. Serve with scoops of gelato if desired.
Step 11
Do Ahead: Budinos (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
How would you rate Chocolate Budino With Candied Walnuts?
Leave a Review
Reviews (12)
Back to TopI'm not entirely sure the amount of hand whisking I put into this little dessert was worth the effort. It's great that it's a good gluten-free option and the candied walnuts on top are delightful, but I ended up with a small amount in 6 small stemless wine glasses and it tasted like basic chocolate pudding. Lots of stars because it was simple and straightforward to make.
WouldEatThat
Washington, DC
7/16/2021
Excellent; simple to make and a nice do ahead dessert foe a gathering.
Amy
Iowa
4/25/2021
Fantastic! Not difficult, followed directions as written except subbed Splenda for sugar. Will be making this many more times in the future. The creamy texture is fantastic.
TacyV
Little Rock AR
2/15/2021
This was delicious! The budino came together well. When I make it next, I’ll probably go with a darker chocolate/less sugar and also halve the kosher salt in the recipe. The pudding had a bit of a salty taste even without the salt topping.
Anonymous
New York, NY
1/2/2021
I absolutely loved the flavor on this but I couldn't get it to set. It was a little soupy. Not sure what I did wrong. I would definitely try it again because I love the idea of it and the flavors were incredible.
Anonymous
Maine
2/15/2019
Dang, this was incredible. I made this for a gathering, with substitutions to make it dairy free (coconut milk for heavy cream, vanilla unsweetened almond milk for the milk). It was a huge hit with all my guests and it's made my list of all-time favorite recipes. Given the time effort of the base recipe, it's worth increasing the recipe by 50-200% to serve more people. Small jelly jars are a great way to serve the budino.
Anonymous
Oakland, CA
10/13/2018
Wow! What a day. Haha. Hope everyone is doing well. Not a huge walnut/chocolate fan but this ended up coming together. Thanks again! We're excited to see what's next.
GreatJobFriends
South Frederick
9/16/2018