Can I Use An Alternative To Cornflour In The Chocolate Pudding?

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Pudding (from NIGELLA EXPRESS) is a silky chocolate custard that sets to a soft, spoonable pudding as it cools and chills. The custard is thickened with a combination of egg yolks and cornflour (cornstarch) and the cocoa solids in the chocolate also help the pudding to set slightly.

We would tend to avoid using arrowroot to thicken the Chocoloate Pudding as sometimes arrowroot-thickened puddings and sauces can become slighty thinner when they are stored in the fridge. Potato starch and tapioca starch (or tapioca flour) look very similar to cornflour and can be used in the same way. We would suggest using the same amount (1 tablespoon) for the pudding. However, we have not tried the recipe with either of these, so are unable to guarantee the results. Also, be careful not to confuse potato starch with potato flour. Potato starch is very fine and bright white. Potato flour is made from dehydrated potatoes and is coarser, usually an off-white colour and has a slightly earthy flavour. Potato flour is not suitable for this recipe.