Graham cracker and Chocolate Custard Pudding (Eggless)

It's not an unknown fact that I love preparing desserts and cakes. Usually friends who scroll through my blog have always asked me why I have more dessert recipes than savory. Well two reasons , first- I love desserts (and cakes , ofcourse!) , two- my family is more patient with me when it comes to photographing desserts. I can take pictures in peace while they eat the hot savory meals :-) No one here likes cold savory food, but cold desserts are fine...Lol! And my favorite flavor for any dessert......CHOCOLATE!!

Whenever we call friends home , be it lunch or dinner, my first thought is dessert. Something stunning, yet easy to prepare and pleasing to your palette! And its definitely the most favorite part of a meal for me. I start checking all my favorite cook books or bookmarked recipes to try and create something good and I definitely want the dessert to be the showstopper :-)

This Graham Cracker and Chocolate Custard pudding is really easy to make. The Graham crackers are dipped in a sweet coffee decoction and layered with eggless chocolate custard and finally topped with whipped cream and garnished with fresh strawberries, which is then refrigerated for few hours before serving. Result is a soft and creamy dessert!

You can avoid dipping the graham crackers in coffee and just layer it with the chocolate custard if you want a bit more firmness, but the crackers will soften eventually with the moistness from the custard.

The chocolate custard in itself is a very good dessert, very rich and chocolaty and its eggless!! I have used store bought vanilla custard powder and mixed it with cocoa powder to make the chocolate custard mix.

I love graham crackers and it’s always a staple in my pantry. The whipped cream helps soften the strong chocolate and coffee flavors. I guess you could also call this a 'Mocha Pudding'. I love anything Mocha flavored and had shared a Mocha cake recipe earlier.

I made the dessert in my 9" pie dish , so it’s definitely a recipe good for a large gathering. Reduce the quantity in half if you want a smaller version of this dessert. It can't go wrong at all , trust me!

Graham cracker Chocolate Custard pudding

You’ll need

For Eggless Chocolate Custard

Vanilla custard powder – ¼ cup (about 4 tablespoons)

Cocoa powder – ¼ cup (about 4 tablespoons)

Milk – 3 cups ( I used Skim milk , Whole Fat milk would add more richness)

Sugar – ½ cup (regulate as per taste)

For the Graham cracker Chocolate custard Pudding

Chocolate custard – as prepared

Graham Crackers – 2 packets or as required

Instant coffee powder  – 2-3 tblsp (I used Bru)

Hot water – 1 cup

Sugar – 4 tblsp

For garnish

Heavy whipping cream – 1 cup

Powdered sugar – 3-4 tblsp

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Fresh sliced strawberries – as required

Directions

For Eggless Chocolate Custard

1. Mix the vanilla custard powder and cocoa powder with a little milk and make a smooth paste.

2. Boil the milk in a microwave or on the stove until it bubbles up (I microwaved the milk for about 5-7 mins on HI )

3. Add the chocolate custard paste to the milk (lower the flame if using a stove), add sugar give a stir and continue boiling until the custard thickens to desired consistency. Take it off the stove or microwave and allow to cool down.

Note : If you are only preparing the chocolate custard as dessert, pour the custard into individual bowls or ramekins. Wait for it to cool down to room temp and refrigerate it for atleast 3-4 hrs, allowing it to set before serving.

For assembling the Graham cracker Chocolate custard Pudding

1. Prepare a coffee decoction by combining the instant coffee powder and sugar with hot water. (Adjust quantities as per taste preference)

2. Take each graham cracker and dip it fully in the coffee decoction and place it in the dessert dish - I used a 9" Pie dish.

3. Arrange the bottom layer with the graham crackers , then pour several spoonfuls of the chocolate custard to cover it. Continue by layering again with graham crackers and chocolate custard such that the graham cracker layer is on top.

4. Prepare whipping cream by beating together the heavy whipping cream , powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a chilled bowl until smooth and soft peaks form and add the whipped cream to the top of the layered pudding.
5. Garnish with sliced Strawberries. Refrigerate for 2-3 hrs before serving and serve chilled.

We shared this dessert with some friends and they really enjoyed it. Smooth, sweet, creamy and chocolaty  that's all the best features in a dessert, don't you think ?  :-)
If you want a kid friendly version, avoid dipping in coffee and dip the graham crackers in milk instead. I

This dessert had been hiding away in my drafts for a while now as I wasn't very happy with my pics, but the taste is something you'll definitely love. Its a dessert that can be enjoyed by both adults and kids alike. Hope you'll try and let me know :-)

-Manju