If you’ve forgotten what real chocolate pudding tastes like, try this recipe from The Lobster Pound restaurant in Lincolnville, Maine. A simple chocolate dessert is just the ticket after one of The Lobster Pound’s shore dinners, and this recipe is an old-fashioned tried-and-true formula that results in a yummy pudding that beats the stuff from a boxed mix hands down.

Lincolnville Beach Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding
Brooke Dojny, The New England Clam Shack Cookbook

⅔ cup sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whipped cream

In a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, and flour. Gradually add about half the milk, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth and lightly thickened, 3-5 minutes.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk about one third of the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs, then whisk the egg mixture back into the saucepan. cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened and smooth, 3-5 minutes. Whisk in the butter and vanilla.

Pour the pudding into four individual dessert dishes or a larger serving bowl. If desired, place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 4.

Brooke Dojny is the author of several cookbooks including Dishing Up Maine.