Amaretto chocolate milk pudding (German)

This is super-fast and quite easy to make and surprisingly light for how flavorful it is. A staple German  home-made treat, spiced with a tablespoon or two of Amaretto (almond) liquor and decorated with almond flakes :) You'll love it. Enjoy.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 100 g sugar
• 25 ml water
• 500 ml milk (full-fat, preferably)
• 30 g starch
• 50 dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons amaretto liquor
• almond flakes to serve (about a handful)

First, put the sugar in a small pot over low heat:

Add a little water (about 2-3 tablespoons, just enough to dissolve the sugar in) and start stirring. It will become very bubbly and glaze-like:

When it changes its color to golden, the caramel is ready. This is when you should pour the milk (reserving a little bit of it for dissolving the starch in). If you let the sugar caramelize for too long before adding the milk, it may catch a slightly bitter undertone (not unpleasant, depending on personal taste). So pour the milk and continue to stir over low heat to dissolve the caramel:

When it's done, mix the starch with the little remaining milk and add it too. Let it come to a boil and stir some more for the whole thing to thicken. Then turn off the heat the add the chocolate, broken into pieces:

Mix well to melt it and blend it. Add the Amaretto. Then pour into little individual pots or ramekins and allow to cool. It can be served at room temperature or cooled in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight). Decorate with almond flakes just before serving and, optionally, more Amaretto ;)

Dig in! :)