Chocolate Malted Ice Box Pudding

This is the kind of recipe your grandmother clipped from a magazine in 1955 and tucked into a recipe box, and for good reason.

No oven, no stovetop, no stress. Just whip heavy cream with malted milk powder and powdered sugar until stiff, fold in finely grated milk and semisweet chocolate, and stir in soft pumpernickel bread crumbs.

Yes, pumpernickel. It sounds wild, but those earthy, dark crumbs melt into the cream overnight and add a subtle depth that makes people squint and say “what IS that?"

Pipe whipped cream on top before serving and watch a room full of adults turn into kids at a soda fountain.

Chef Tips

• Use day-old pumpernickel for the crumbs. Fresh bread is too moist and won’t break down properly. Pulse it in a food processor for soft, even crumbs.
• Grate the chocolate on the fine side of a box grater so it distributes evenly through the cream rather than settling in chunks.
• The overnight chill isn’t optional. The flavors need at least 8 hours to come together and the texture to set properly.
• Pipe the whipped cream topping no more than 3 hours before serving so it stays fluffy and doesn’t weep.