It’s been a while since I reviewed a cookbook and that’s mostly been on me because I haven’t been able to pick anything out of this book, Kitchen Matrix by Mark Bittman, to share. Not because there aren’t a lot of good recipes, but because everything sounds so amazing. In the end, I decided to just go simple and make up my own thing based on the dessert bar section.

But first, a bit about The Kitchen Matrix. This book is based upon the fact that you can take one base recipe or one central ingredient, and create severel different recipes with that base. The dessert section is particularly interesting because of the dessert bar. It gives you so many different options for building you perfect dessert. You can mix and match and make something you really love. Or set it all out for get together and let your guests create their own desserts. If it were up to me, I’d pile everything up on a big plate and come back for seconds.

Today I decided to keep things simple and create a chocolate pudding with whipped cream and toasted coconut. I chose this because I was really craving something with chocolate, but also wanted something that wouldn’t weigh me down. These are so light and creamy and has just enough chocolate to satisfy my cravings.

I will admit that I did cheat a bit by using a premade graham cracker crust. I honestly just didn’t want to fuss with making them and I hope you won’t begrudge me for doing so! If you want to make your own crust, please do.

Yield: 8 pies

Chocolate Pudding Pies

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes

Total Time 13 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 8.5 oz dark chocolate
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 8 mini graham cracker crusts
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut

Instructions

1. Heat one cup of heavy in a saucepan until hot and steaming, but not yet boiling.
2. Put the chocolate and the heavy cream into a blender and blend on high until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is slightly thickened.
3. Add in the salt and egg then blend again for about another minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
4. Evenly divide the mixture among the crusts and chill again for another 3 hours or until set.
5. Whip the remaining heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat for another minute.
6. Take out the pies and top with the whipped cream and toasted coconut. Serve immediately.