I’m 60 years old and I have NEVER made a blancmange in a mould. Infact, I have never, ever, owned a proper glass jelly mould until FINALLY I recently bought one off eBay!

Being such a momentous occasion in my simple little life, I wanted my first blancmange to follow an authentic wartime recipe and it HAD to be perfect! Somehow, miraculously it was! It set well, it came out from the mould in one piece and it tasted absolutely delicious!

I was so impressed with this recipe that I’m going to remake it, photograph it properly, and include it in my “Ration Book Recipes” book!

Hope you enjoy the recipe below and the short video I created so you can see it wobble!

C xxxx

Wartime Chocolate Blancmange Recipe

• 500 mls of whole milk 40g of cornflour/starch (I used Birds Custard Powder)
• 3 tbsp of caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (adjust depending how chocolatey you like it)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• Small pinch of salt
• (If you use Birds Custard Powder you do not need the vanilla essence or salt)

Method

In a small bowl mix 100 mls of the milk with the cornflour and cocoa powder stirring until all lumps are dissolved and the paste is nice and smooth

Place milk and sugar and vanilla essence and salt in a saucepan and heat until warm. Slowly stir in the cornflour/cocoa mixture and mix continuously incorporating into the warm milk, bringing to a light simmer. Keep stirring/whisking continuously until it thickens and there are no lumps for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat, slowly stir for a minute off the heat and then pour into a jelly mould.

Let cool for an hour or so then put somewhere cool like a fridge until chilled and ready to serve.