Cantucci Double Chocolate Pudding Parfait

If you are craving a chocolate pudding parfait that has some crunch, a lot of creaminess, plenty of chocolate, it’s sweet but not too sweet, and it’s inspired by Italy, well you’ ve just found it.

And on top of that, you can make this in under 30 minutes. I will also give you a variation to make it in 10 minutes.

What to expect: take a spoonful of this and slowly put it in your mouth. You’ll first meet the sweet mascarpone with chocolate chips, the crunchy cantucci biscuits, and finally the chocolate crema pasticcera that’s just divine. It’s a double chocolate feast!

 

cantucci double chocolate pudding parfait

cantucci double chocolate pudding parfait

Cantucci Double Chocolate Pudding Parfait

Alessia
This Italian double chocolate pudding parfait is delicious - chocolatey, milky, crunchy, sweet but not too sweet, and ready in under 30 mins.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 large servings
Calories 1200 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 milk pot
  • 1 small pot
  • 1 small whisker preferably a soft one like silicone
  • 1 sifter
  • 1 medium bowl
  • 1 chopping board
  • 1 knife
  • 2 tablespoons
  • 2 dessert glasses

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Homemade Crema Pasticcera with Chocolate

  • 250 ml milk I used regular, full fat
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence adjust quantity based on the strength of the vanilla you are using. Mine is pretty strong.
  • 3 medium egg yolks
  • 60 gr sugar I used coconut sugar to make this healthier but the classic crema pasticcera calls for white sugar.
  • 20 gr rice or corn starch I used corn starch, which makes it thicker.
  • 60 gr milk chocolate bar

Ingredients for the Chocolate Pudding Parfait

  • 12 mini Cantucci biscuits or less if you are using the regular size
  • 250 gr mascarpone
  • 50 gr chocolate chips I used milk but dark is fine too.

Instructions
 

Making Homemade Crema Pasticcera with Chocolate

  • Grate your chocolate bar and set aside.
    grated chocolate for chocolate custard
  • Add the milk in your pot together with the vanilla essence, and let it heat until it starts boiling.
    pouring milk for chocolate custard
  • In another pot, add your egg yolks, but don't put them on the stove.
    adding yolks to a pot
  • Next, add the sugar.
    adding sugar to a pot
  • Follow by adding your starch of choice.
    adding corn starch to a pot
  • Don't let those ingredients sit for long, and start mixing them right away with your whisker. You want to achieve a creamy consistency without too many lumps.
    whisking egg yolks sugar and corn starch for custard
  • Watch the milk so you can take it off the heat when it starts boiling.
    warming up milk in a pot
  • Take your sifter and pour half of the warm milk through it on top of the egg yolks.
    adding warm milk to custard base
  • Start whisking the milk into the creamy yolks.
  • Repeat with the rest of the milk.
  • Next, put your pot over the heat, and continue whisking until the liquid mixture turns into a somewhat tick cream. You can whisk a little more if you want it extra thick but don't forget it tends to thicken more when it cools down.
    whisking custard to thicken
  • Quickly add the grated chocolate in and whisk that in off the heat, so that the chocolate melts into the crema while the latter is still warm.
    adding grated chocoalte to custard
  • Let the crema rest and cool down while you prepare the other ingredients.
    crema pasticcera al cioccolato is ready

Prepare the Sweet Mascarpone

  • Add your mascarpone to a medium bowl, with a tablespoon of sugar and the chocolate chips. Mix well and set aside.
    sweet mascarpone is ready

Make the Chocolate Pudding Parfait

  • Before you start making it, take your biscuits and cut them into tiny bites. Set aside in a plate.
    cutting cantucci biscuits into smaller bites
  • Take your dessert glasses and layer two tablespoons of chocolate crema pasticcera, which is the Italian equivalent to custard.
    adding a layer of Italian chocolate custard to make chocolate pudding parfait
  • Top with the cantucci bites you've just chopped.
    adding cantucci bites on top of chocolate pudding
  • Top with one to two tablespoons mascarpone mix.
    adding sweet mascarpone to make the chocolate pudding parfait
  • Add one more layer of chocolate custard, a few biscuits and finish with the mascarpone.
    adding more crema pasticcera al cioccolato
  • Put in the fridge for a couple of hours so that both the custard and the mascarpone can set, and dig in.
    Italian chocolate pudding parfait

Notes

This is a caloric dessert because of the mascarpone and sugar. If you want to make it with less calories follow our tips in the article. Otherwise, you can simply make 4 servings out of this recipe and cut the calories by half per serving.
Keyword cantucci, chocolate, creamy, mascarpone, parfait, pudding

Recipe Variation 1: Chocolate Crema Pasticcera ready in 10 minutes

If you don’t want to make the crema pasticcera yourself, I suggest trying to get your hands on a pack of Paneangeli Crema Pasticcera mix. Look online as it’s likely you won’t find it in your local supermarket, unless you are in Italy.

That comes in a powder mix and all you need to do is add the milk and mix at room temperature. So you won’t need to wait while the custard cools down. You’ll also need to melt in the chocolate at the end.

Alternatively, you can replace this Italian mix with a custard mix and then add the chocolate, or buy a chocolate custard and use that instead.

crema pasticcera with eggs

 

Recipe Variation 2: Low Calories Chocolate Pudding Parfait

To cut the calories, do the following:

  1. Replace the mascarpone with a Greek Yogurt
  2. Leave the sugar out of the mascarpone/yogurt as the chocolate chips are already sweet
  3. Use less sugar in the custard as the cantucci sweetness will compensate for that
  4. Make smaller servings; our recipe can make 4 smaller servings instead of 2 large
  5. Use dark chocolate instead of milk as it has less sugar.

Once you replace these ingredients, you can go ahead and follow the recipe above to make your low calorie version of this delicious chocolate pudding parfait.

Don’t fret, it will still be delicious.

 

eggless healthy tiramisu easter colomba glass dessert

 

More Simple Glass Desserts

These delicious and quick types of dessert are perfect for every season, whether Summer with a cold one or Winter with a mix of warm and cold.

Have a look at these other 2 Glass Dessert Recipes on the blog:

  1. Healthy Tiramisu in a glass – simply follow our recipe but make yours in glasses.
  2. Layered Easter Colomba with Italian Custard

 

Another great glass dessert idea is to layer Greek Yogurt with balsamic glazed strawberries. You can caramelise the strawberries in a pan using this Gold Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Or you can keep everything uncooked and simple layer the two with a drizzle of balsamic on top.

 

What goes well with parfait?

 

How many calories in a chocolate pudding parfait?

A chocolate pudding parfait can have a low calorie count, even 200 calories, if you use low calorie ingredients like yogurt and dark chocolate to make it. Sweeter and richer versions of this recipe can have 1200 calories or more.

How to make creamy parfait?

To make your parfait very creamy, we suggest a combination of two of these ingredients: custard, mascarpone, mousse, and yogurt.

What goes well with parfait?

Fruit, biscuits, granola, cake are all delicious ingredients to pair with parfait. Depending on which you choose your parfait will be more crunchy or spongy, lower or higher in calories.

Can parfait be eaten as breakfast?

Very sweet parfait recipes are not ideal for breakfast, but more so as a treat. However, a parfait made with yogurt, fruit and granola is a great option to start the morning.

What can you use instead of yogurt in a parfait?

For a sweeter more indulgent parfait, replace yogurt with either custard, mousse, fresh cream, or mascarpone.

What is the name of the Italian mousse?

In Italian we call it mousse al cioccolato if it's made with chocolate, mousse di fragole when it's made with strawberries, mousse al caffe, etc.

What is Italian custard called?

Italian custard is called crema pasticcera, and if it's made with chocolate Italians call it crema pasticcera al cioccolato.

What is Italian custard made of?

A classic Italian custard is made with milk, vanilla essence, egg yolks, white sugar, and either rice starch or corn starch. It's called crema pasticcera in Italy, and it's used to make iconic desserts like Cannoli and Cornetti (croissants).

What do Italians call custard?

Italian custard is called crema pasticcera, and if it's made with chocolate Italians call it crema pasticcera al cioccolato. Crema pasticcera is used to fill iconic Italian desserts like croissants, cannoli, and bigné.
Alessia
Author: Alessia

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