Trail Chocolate Pudding
Cocoa, powdered milk, and a spoon of cornstarch. Sets up in the pot while you clean your teeth.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 2.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 165
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 250 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | nido or a dairy-free coconut milk powder |
|---|---|---|
| Cornstarch | 1 tbsp | replaces the gelatin, which needs a fridge to set |
| Cocoa powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Chocolate chips | 3 tbsp | semi-sweet; they carry the fat and most of the sugar |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | optional, the chips are already sweet |
| Vanilla extract | 1/4 tsp | in a small dropper bottle, or skip it |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Stir the milk powder, cornstarch, cocoa, sugar, and salt together dry in the pot. Lumps started now never leave.
- Add 250 ml of water a splash at a time, stirring to a smooth paste before you pour the rest.
- Heat on low, stirring constantly. It will look thin for four minutes and then thicken all at once. Pull it off there.
- Off the heat, stir in the chips and the vanilla until the chips are gone.
- Let it sit ten minutes. It sets as it cools, and it will scorch the pot if you keep it on the flame.
The source recipe sets with gelatin in a cold fridge, which does not exist on the trail. Cornstarch does the same job in the other direction: it thickens with heat and holds once cool, so the pudding sets sitting on a rock while the stove goes out.
Fresh milk is out too, so powdered milk carries the body and the protein. The chips matter more than they look. They are the fat, and fat is what separates pudding from sweet chocolate soup. Keep the flame low and keep stirring, because milk powder and sugar catch on a thin pot floor fast.
Packing
Everything dry except the chips goes in one small bag. Chips ride in their own bag or they weld into the powder in warm weather.
Variations
- Coconut milk powder in place of the dairy makes it vegan and richer.
- A spoon of instant coffee in the dry mix turns it into a mocha.
- Skip the pot: pour the boiled mix into a mug and stir. More dishes, less scorching.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/homemade-chocolate-pudding-recipe