Passionate Chocolate Piffle

Yesterday was St. Valentine's day, a date I'm perpetually upset with, so I decided to leave you guys to it. But Fat Thursday upcoming is another matter entirely: I know you will need ideas for desserts. And when I think of desserts, I think of chocolate.

Not interested in ramblings? Scroll down for recipe!

Sure, you can just go out and buy doughnuts, and they might be pretty great doughnuts, but homemade beats shop-bought every time. I can't make homemade doughnuts, though. I've tried. It doesn't work.

Rejoice and Reduce

In any case, I've been traveling a bit lately, visiting friends, eating a lot of pizza and sorely neglecting my workout routine. (Among other things.)

People with better self-control would cut desserts out entirely, at least for a while, when their stomachs start resembling a cute soft ball. I'm not sure I ever had any self-control, though. I think it's shipped separately for this model.

So, whenever I need to watch what I eat, I substitute my usual array of muffins and yeast pancakes for the Chocolate Piffle, which is absolutely delicious while being strangely low on calories. You may say, hold up, it's not possible to cut down while indulging at the same time!

Is it?

The name "Chocolate Piffle" is something I came up with for blogging purposes. What it actually is, is plain old chocolate pudding, but the word "pudding" had always seemed extremely unappetising to me and I refuse to use it. Calling this dessert "pudding" is pure nonsense. Piffle, if you will.

In its simplest form, chocolate pudding piffle is milk, cocoa and sugar, thickened into a soft, creamy dessert by adding flour. You can buy this ready made, but making it at home gives you far better control over what you put in it, which is the whole point of cooking at home, and of kitchen witchcraft and of basically everything. Plus, it's incredibly easy.

Cykuta's Passionate Chocolate Piffle

• Ingredients

• milk - 500 ml
• starch - 40 g (two tablespoons). This can be potato, corn or wheat. I prefer potato starch.
• dark cocoa powder - 40 to 60 g (two to three tablespoons)
• brown sugar - 30 to 40 g (you get the picture)
• cinnamon - one teaspoon
• allspice - one crushed bead-thingy
• cardamom - one pinch
• freshly ground coffee - up to half a teaspoon.

Only use coffee if you can get your hands on freshly ground beans. If you have pre-ground coffee, don't bother with it, it won't have the right aroma.

• Preparation

Combine all dry ingredients in a glass or mug, carefully. They're all light powders and if you mix too vigorously, they'll fly off everywhere. Add some of your milk (before heating up ; usually half a glass is enough) and mix until you have a thick chocolate syrupy thing.

Put the rest of your milk in a saucepan with a good, handy handle and start heating it up slowly. Pour your mixture into the milk when it gets a bit warm, and mix continuously, possibly turning the heat up to medium, until you get a smooth, thick texture. Pour into serving dishes.

• Serving

Most people don't know that starch puddings piffles  need to be refrigerated to set properly. Yes, the heat starts the process, but then the cold finishes it. Make your own interpretations as per their appropriateness for Valentine's Day in the light of this information.

Anyway, this does not mean they can't be eaten when hot, and in fact, on a freezing winter day, a portion of hot passionate chocolate straight from the pan is the best love spell you need. Still, if you want it to set nicely and serve with whipped cream for maximum indulgence factor, be sure to refrigerate them.