In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, almond milk, Truvia, cocoa, egg, and xanthan gum and whisk well. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently,. Do not let the pudding come to a rolling boil. You want to cook it gently and slowly.
Continue to heat and whisk until the pudding is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You may need to add a little extra xanthan gum at this point.
Remove from heat, then whisk in the vanilla extract.
Pour into a container, cover, and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
Serve with whipped cream.
Use the best quality cocoa you can get for the recipe. I use dark cocoa but you can try a lighter version if you like. I like this one HERE.
The egg is not optional in this recipe. Without the cornflour to thicken it as you would use in a traditional cooked pudding, the egg acts as a thickener. Otherwise, you'd have only xantham gum providing the thickening and too much of that as a mucilaginous texture that is not great.
The key is to cook over a medium-low heat and to stir frequently so that the pudding doesn't scorch. You also want to ensure you cook it long enough, otherwise, you will get a runny pudding. If the mixture coats the back of a spoon as you run a spoon through it, it's a good sign that it is ready to be chilled.
You should make this in advance so that you can chill the pudding. If you are doing this, place a plastic clingfilm on the bowl and press it down so that it covers the top of the pudding. This will prevent it from forming that dreaded "skin" on top.
If you need this quickly, pour into four small ramekins and chill, rather than in one large dish.
Although I have not tested this, you could try this with one additional egg and no cocoa powder, and vanilla extract added, for a keto vanilla pudding. If you do this, be sure and post in the Twosleevers Facebook group so we can all see how your dessert turned out!