Marquesa de Ciocolată Venezuelană

Place the cup of water in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds. Carefully remove it and dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Stir with a fork until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, place the two cups of milk, along with the espresso powder, ground cinnamon, egg yolks, sugar, and butter. Stir gently until the butter is melted.

Then add the sifted cocoa powder. Stir well with a whisk until smooth.

Then add the water and cornstarch mix, stirring constantly until it thickens. This process takes approximately 4 to 6 minutes. You'll know the pudding is ready when you mix it and you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the rum and stir well. Set aside while you prepare everything to assemble the marquesa.

This dessert can be removed from the mold or not. It depends on how you choose to make it. Making and serving it directly in a baking pan or mold is obviously easier, but less visually appealing. If you want to remove it from the mold, use a springform pan, or line a regular round pan with baking paper and brush it with a little oil.

Place the remaining cup of milk in a shallow dish and dip the Maria cookies in, two at a time. The idea is to soak the cookies so they soften a little.

Cover the base of the pan with Maria cookies soaked in milk. Place crushed cookies in the empty spaces, trying to cover them as best as possible.

Place a generous layer of chocolate pudding, flatten it with a spatula to make it as even as possible, and then add another layer of cookies. Repeat this process until you run out of cookies. Make sure the last layer is pudding.

Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours until it sets.

Remove from the refrigerator, carefully unmold, and decorate with chocolate shavings, buttercream, or chopped peanuts.