Chocolate Quicksand Pudding

Rainy, gloomy days have made me long for a comfort dessert. So I made chocolate quicksand pudding, both to brighten my day, but also as this month’s contribution to Food ‘N Flix. January’s movie is Wreck it Ralph, hosted by Amy’s Cooking Adventures.

This one was on my holiday watch list for awhile, so we watched it very early this month while I was still on vacation. For those of you who may not be familiar with this one, here’s a quick synopsis:

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer), the “good guy” star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after decades doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph decides he’s tired of playing the role of a bad guy. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a game-hopping journey across the arcade through every generation of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty. But it’s the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it’s too late? — (C) Disney

This movie pays such loving homage to video games of the arcade era. I loved the animation, the characters, and the plot. Plus, it was a treasure trove of inspiration. My notes included beer, pies, cookies, cherries, cocktails, cake, shrimp cocktail, root beer, cotton candy, and lots and lots of candy. After all, Ralph ends up in the game Sugar Rush, so most of the movie is dominated by candy. My favorite were the devil cake devil dogs - but I eventually landed on making chocolate quicksand pudding (as inspired by the Nesquik sand that Felix and Calhoun get sucked into. Never fear though - laughing taffy to the rescue).

I have to confess that it’s been a long time since I made chocolate pudding. It’s one of those foods that, sadly, got a bad association going on about five years ago. I had all four wisdom teeth extracted in my thirties (yeah - not a great idea to wait that long) and ended up eating a lot of pudding for days. Granted, being a foodie and all, it was homemade chocolate pudding that I made in advance, but still. Pudding. Bleh.

Fortunately, I’m past it and chocolate pudding tastes really good again. I love this recipe for chocolate quicksand pudding because it’s about as close to instant as homemade pudding can get. In other words, in about 10 minutes time, you’ll have pudding ready to chill in the fridge.