Updated in March 2023 with more detailed instructions, notes and substitutions.

A hint of chile and cinnamon give this chocolate pudding a delicious twist. Perfect for any Mexican celebration, or anytime you're in the mood to take chocolate in an interesting new direction.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided (see Notes)

2 guajillo chiles sliced open from stem to tip (or see Notes for substitutions)

2 Ceylon cinnamon sticks

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao; see notes), cut into small pieces

Optional: whipped cream and ground cinnamon for serving

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, warm 2 1/4 cups of the milk with the chiles and cinnamon sticks over medium heat with the lid askew. Watch closely, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. As the milk just begins a bare simmer, turn the heat to the lowest setting and let the pot rest, covered, from 30 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. You don’t want the volume of liquid to decrease from evaporation, so the milk mixture should be hot but not aggressively steaming. (If a skin begins to form, whisk it back into the milk to encourage it to dissipate.)

2. Strain all the solids from the infused milk, pressing the liquids out of the chiles and back into the milk. You should have 2 cups of liquid; if you have less, add more milk up to the 2 cup mark. Return it to the saucepan and set aside off heat.

3. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup milk with the egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a medium bowl and whisk to combine thoroughly.

4. Gently warm the saucepan with the infused milk to steaming (but not boiling) with the lid ajar. If you happen to have a thermometer, aim for the 140 degree range. Without a thermometer (which you really don’t need, I promise!) you want the milk hot enough to make steam, but not enough to rapidly evaporate. Keep the pot partially covered as you work to prevent a skin from forming on the milk.

5. Turn the heat to low, and temper the egg mixture with the hot milk like this:

Add a few ladle-fuls of the hot milk to the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking as you go.

Once you've added enough milk to warm the egg mixture noticeably (the outside of the bowl will feel warm to the touch), pour all the egg mixture from the bowl back into the pan, in a steady stream, whisking as do.

6. Turn the heat to medium (or a tad higher if needed) and whisk until the mixture thickens and just begins to boil (one bubble is enough). Once you see a bubble or two, turn the heat to low and whisk for another minute or so.

7. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and the chocolate pieces with a silicone spatula, until they’re completely melted and thoroughly combined with the pudding.

8. You can serve the pudding slightly warm, or at room temperature, or chilled. A skin will form pretty quickly if the hot pudding is exposed to the room-temperature air, so to prevent this you have some options:

• Drizzle a little cream over the top, then stir it into the pudding just before serving; or

• Scoop the pudding into a bowl or other container and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding until it has cooled; or

• Put the lid on the pan, move it away from the stove, and allow the pudding to cool in the covered pan for up to an hour or so.

Serve straight up, or with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Notes:

I originally created this recipe with guajillo chiles, which contribute a gorgeous chile flavor without much (or any) heat. If you happen to have ancho chiles on hand instead, you can sub one standard-sized ancho for the two guajillo chiles. Another option is crushed Aleppo pepper flakes, which combine beautifully with chocolate and the other flavors here and have a lot less heat than standard Italian-style crushed red pepper. If using Aleppo pepper, use between a half-tablespoon and a full tablespoon. A full tablespoon will give you some heat as well as flavor, while a half-tablespoon will contribute some flavor without much heat. If using Aleppo pepper, the milk infusion will happen much faster in Step 1, about 15-30 minutes.

I’m calling for Ceylon cinnamon here, because I love the way it combines with chiles and chocolate. It’s more subtle, somewhat lighter and more floral than the standard cassia cinnamon we all grew up with in the US. Since it’s less assertive than cassia, Ceylon is the cinnamon I reach for to use in combination with more complicated flavors, like those in this recipe.

The bittersweet 70% cacao chocolate I’m calling for helps to make this a sophisticated and elevated dessert, registering a little less sweet (but more complex) on the palate. If you don't have access to 70% cacao chocolate, you could substitute a lower-cacao-percentage bittersweet chocolate, but you may need to use more of it to ensure you get a sufficiently chocolate-y flavor. If you’re using semisweet instead of bittersweet, you may want to reduce the amount of sugar you use. I didn't experiment with this, but I would think 1/4-1/3 cup would work nicely, depending on how sweet you want the finished product to be. (Or heck, if you like your pudding more on the sweet side, you can stick with the full 1/2-cup called for here. You do you!)

Make-ahead notes: You can make this through Step 2, and refrigerate the infused milk to make the pudding another day. You can also complete the pudding in advance, and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Spices and ingredients used in this dish:

More recipes with guajillo chiles:

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This recipe was originally created for our Series of Unfortunate Recipes, based on the book and Netflix series by Lemony Snicket. (Don't worry - this recipe is awesome! It's the story that's unfortunate.)