Can you substitute low fat milk in chocolate pudding?

[asp]

I have a fabulous chocolate pudding that I want to make for a bbq this weekend. but it uses heavy cream. since several of the guests are doing weight watchers, I'd like to substitute lowfat or skim milk. Will it work?

[asp]

Hi everyody, I ended up using whole milk instead of cream, and it was delicious, although of course not as rich . It took a bit longer to set. I served it with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Thanks for your advice.

[asp]

thanks for all the feedback! I am going to try substituting a blend of whole and 2% milk. I'll use really good chocolate and hope the taste covers for any texture changes. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[HillJ]

When in doubt, half the recipe and do a test run. Hate to see you use up good ingredients if the results aren't to your liking...especially for a party.

[ctfoodie]

I would make the full fat version for the guests who will eat it and I would make Dr. Oetker light chocolate mousse for the weight watchers. http://www.oetker.us/en/product/desse....

[asp]

Here is the recipe. http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.co.... It's from Home restauranat in Manhattan. It is so much better than any other pudding I have ever had, so I would love to make it work. Any suggestions? How about 2% milk or whole milk?

[katecm]

Maybe fat free evaporated milk? It won't be the same, but since you have the eggs to thicken it, it might help.

[danna]

That's a good question. I was prepared to say "SURE, I make pudding with skim milk all the time", but after looking at the recipe, i really wouldn't call that a pudding, I'd call it a pot de creme or something similar. Since there's no flour or cornstarch to help it set up, I'm a little unsure how it would work. I will say that I often make a quiche with skim milk from a recipe that calls for half and half, and it sets up OK, but is always at risk of being a little watery. It certainly does not have the silky-smooth texture of quiche made w/ cream.

If you decide to experiment w/ low fat, please report back!

[paulj]

I agree, this is a baked egg custard or pot de creme; I would not recommend substitutions. A pudding thickened with cornstarch would be more forgiving. In that case the cream adds a richness, but is not essential to the thickening.

[paulj]

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recip...
Nadia calls her version pot au chocolat

[todao]

Since puddings thicken through the use of eggs or corn starch as an ingredient, using low fat milk in place of the cream should not make a huge difference in anything but the richness of texture and "creaminess" of the dessert. However, inasmuch as the amount of pudding you might have in one serving should not be a mortal sin in the eyes of weight watchers for one meal, I'd stick with the recipe as written.

[nyfoodie718]

It is my understanding that if you go below 2% that it will not set properly however since this particular recipe calls for heavy cream I'd be hesitant to sub lowfat milk for taste/texture reasons as well.

[HillJ]

Agree. You are better off following a recipe that calls for a low fat milk. Like this:

http://www.culinate.com/books/collect...

and Smitten Kitchen has a version on her website that works well too.