CHOCOLATE PUDDING TART

    To all of you who have been coming faithfully each day to my site to look for tomato posts... I think it's over.  The steamy 90's are gone.  The sun is lower in the sky.  And last night we had a low of 45 degrees.  So where do I turn when all of my tomatoes are gone?   Chocolate, of course.  This is just a simple (very simple) chocolate pudding recipe I make quite often.  It's what I make in the late afternoon when I think... OMG! there isn't anything for dessert tonight!  I usually fill custard cups with this and then top with whipped cream, but occasionally I'll spread the pudding onto a buttery crust when I'm feeling like something a little more decadent.  If I don't want it to be too decadent, I'll top it with meringue.

        LOW-FAT (or not) "OLD-FASHIONED" CHOCOLATE PUDDING
                                          adapted from Cooking Light

• one prebaked tart crust (recipe follows)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons (packed) cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups low-fat (or better yet, whole) milk
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Mix first 5 ingredients in a heavy saucepan.  Add 1 cup milk and whisk to dissolve cornstarch.  Whisk in remaining milk.  Whisk mixture over medium heat until thickened and beginning to simmer, about 5 minutes.  Simmer 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in butter and extracts.  Either divide between custard cups, or pour into a tart crust.  When cool, top with whipped cream and toasted almonds. 

                                         TART CRUST

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 10 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 egg

Combine salt, flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor.  Process briefly.  Add butter and pulse until until the size of peas.  Add egg and process just until the dough begins to come together.  Press into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for 2 hours before rolling dough.  Bake the tart shell, lined with foil and weighted with dried beans, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to bake until golden.