People have a weird obsession with bacon.  I’ll be honest.  I don’t fully understand it.  I mean sure bacon is tasty, but I would much rather eat a chocolate/pb combo over a piece of bacon pretty much any day.

But on top of my affinity for chocolate and peanut butter, I also have a crazy desire to recreate things I eat at restaurants.

So a few weekends ago, Jesse (boyfriend, in case you’re a new reader! Hi!) and I went to the Manhattan Beach Post for our anniversary.  We ate some pretty tasty things (some cheddar bacon biscuits I also attempted to recreate, recipe to come), but we were too full for dessert.

One of the things that looked amazing was the “Elvis,” which the menu describes as “a wonderful mess of chocolate pudding, peanut butter mousse, bacon brittle.”

A wonderful mess.

I like that.

And I bet I would have loved it there (because pretty much everything I ate was delicious. White Oak Grilled Sword Squid with marinated gigande beans and lemon curd.  Bomb.  Try it you’re around there).

So of course I had to recreate it, even though I didn’t really try it.

Here’s my rendition.

I say you should give it a try too.

Chocolate Pudding with Peanut Butter Mousse and Maple Candied Bacon

pudding adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Pudding:

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 cup whole milk
6. 5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Mousse:

1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Maple Candied Bacon:

4-6 slices of bacon
2 tbsp maple syrup

Place milk, sugar and salt in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom until warm.  In a bowl, whisk together cornstarch and some of the warm milk.  Make sure there are no clumps, then add mixture to the rest of the milk.  Continue to stir until it starts to thicken and coats the back of the spoon (about 10 minutes).  Stir in chocolate chips.  Combine to stir until well combined and think (maybe another 5 mins).  Transfer to small bowls.  Refrigerate until cool.

In a bowl, beat heavy cream until firm.  Set aside.  In another bowl, beat together peanut butter and condensed milk until smooth.  Fold in whipped cream.  Refrigerate half an hour.

Next make bacon.  Place bacon in a bowl with maple syrup, toss to coat.  Heat a frying pan to medium heat.  Add bacon, cook until crisp.  Lay cooked bacon on paper towels.  Allow to cool completely and chop.

Next assemble.  Using a piping bag or a Ziploc back, pipe some peanut butter mousse over the chocolate pudding.  Sprinkle with pieces of bacon.  Serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings (or many more in tiny shot glasses).  If you’re not ready to serve it yet, pipe the peanut butter mousse over the pudding and refrigerate.  About 15 minutes before serving remove from the fridge then sprinkle with bacon when ready to serve.

It’s a bit of a process to make but definitely worth it.

Bonus: bacon makes it a man-pleaser.

Go ahead recreate this.  Then tell me how it is.  I’ll be in China while you do that.  No really, I’ll be in China.  I leave on Thursday.  I hope I get to eat ridiculously tasty things and see some awesome sites.  I’ll tell you all about it.

Any China trip tip or recommendations?

Anyone else want chocolate pudding with peanut butter mousse and maple bacon?

Yeah, we all do.  Go make it!