Deep Chocolate Pudding

Chop the chocolate into very fine pieces. Combine chocolate, 1 3/4 cups milk, cream, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a large saucepan. Stir vigorously using a whisk over medium heat until mixture simmers and is smooth and thick. Stir the remaining 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch together and whisk into the chocolate mixture. Simmer for a minute, whisking and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula. Add the butter and cook 1 more minute. Stir in vanilla.

Serve pudding on its own or use for the filling in the Crepe Cake . Store refrigerated in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the pudding surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Nutritional information is based on a 1/2-cup serving.