the best chocolate pudding

The smoothest, most decadent chocolate pudding I've ever had - it's more like a thick mousse - and of course it's from Bon Appetit magazine (here's the original recipe). This is going into heavy recipe rotation at my house - a dessert with 20 minutes prep time that will impress guests and satisfy a serious chocolate craving.

chocolate pudding with orange whipped cream
Makes 6-8 servings. You can definitely make this sans whip cream, it's that rich. I used my own homemade orange liquor for the whip cream, but you can use Grand Marnier or Cointreu, or just leave it out altogether.

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups whole milk or regular soy milk
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup cold whipping cream
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp orange liquor
1/4 tsp orange zest

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup milk and egg yolks. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in remaining milk. Bring mixture to a slow boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Continue to boil for 1 minute, whisking all the while. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate chips and butter. Stir until everything is melted and smooth. Finally, stir in vanilla. Spoon mixture into small bowls, and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

If you like skin on your pudding, don't cover the puddings. If you don't like skin, put plastic wrap directly on the surface of the puddings.

Beat together whipping cream, 1 tbsp sugar, orange liquor and orange zest, until peaks form. Cover and chill.

Serve pudding with a spoonful of whip cream, and some extra orange zest for garnish.