Homemade pudding is worth a little extra effort

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Homemade pudding is worth a little extra effort

In Great Britain, the term pudding is used casually for any sweet treat eaten after dinner. In the United States, pudding often refers to the stuff in a box marketed by Bill Cosby in the ’80s.

In the hierarchy of homemade dessert-making difficulty, there’s not much easier than pudding. If you forgo chilling and eat it warm, it can be on the table in 10 minutes. Add an extra three minutes if you want to serve it with freshly whipped cream.

So toss the box – it’s much nicer to thicken your pudding with cornstarch and eggs instead of tetrasodium pyrophosphate, anyway.

The simplest homemade puddings use cornstarch as a thickener. This makes for the easiest preparation, but a single egg adds richness and viscosity and allows for less cornstarch, leaving the finished product less, well, cornstarch-y.

The addition of an egg technically throws this into the realm of custards, but the ultrasmooth results are worth it. The recipe involves a technique called “tempering,” which sounds tricky but isn’t. When cooking on the stovetop with an egg and other liquids, it’s necessary to slowly warm the egg mixture to avoid getting bits of scrambled eggs in the dessert.

Soft “nursery desserts” like pudding and tapioca are perfect for little ones, especially on a rainy day. It’s quick enough that it can be whipped up for lunch or after-school snacking. And if it’s sunny and hot, the leftovers can be frozen into pudding pops.

The vanilla pudding is silky and golden, with the tiny pop and aroma of thousands of vanilla bean seeds. The chocolate pudding is almost mousselike, and the flavor is deepened with a small hit of espresso powder.

Homemade takes a few more minutes to prepare than instant or “cook and serve” types, but the taste and texture make it worth it.

Buying recommendations: Cooking with vanilla beans is a delightful experience. The seeds impart a perfume and flavor that elevate your finished product to a new level.

Vanilla beans are more expensive than a teaspoon of extract, ranging from $1.25 to $3 per bean depending upon the type and source. Purchase vanilla beans at a spice specialty shop (like The Spice House or Penzey’s) or online from beanilla.com.

Make-ahead: Pudding is the perfect make-ahead dessert because it is typically served chilled.

Variations: Make chocolate or vanilla, or make both and gently swirl together just before serving for a marbled pudding.

Using leftovers/storage: If there are leftovers, make frozen pudding pops. Scrape leftover pudding into ice pop molds or small paper cups. If using paper cups, add wooden sticks a few hours after putting pudding into the freezer, when they have set up enough to hold the sticks in place.

Vanilla Pudding
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean or 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup whipping cream

1 egg

In a 4-quart saucepan, bring milk to a simmer over low heat. Keep an eye on it (especially if using a smaller saucepan), as milk can boil over in an instant.

While milk is warming, split vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds with the back of a knife. Place seeds in a large bowl and toss pod into the milk. (If using vanilla extract, add it at the end.)

Add sugar, cornstarch and salt to the same large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add cream and egg and whisk until very smooth, dissolving all of the cornstarch lumps.

Remove vanilla bean pod from the milk. Use a measuring cup to ladle about ¼ cup of the warm milk from the saucepan. Slowly pour into egg mixture while briskly whisking. Repeat twice more. At this point, the mixture will be sufficiently tempered and can be slowly poured back into the saucepan, whisking the entire time.

Increase heat to medium and whisk continuously until pudding comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute (keep whisking) and then remove from heat. If using extract, stir it in now.

Let pudding cool, then cover and chill in the fridge. If you don’t appreciate pudding skin, use plastic wrap and place it on the surface of the pudding as it cools.

For Chocolate Pudding: When milk in saucepan has warmed, add ¼ cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips to saucepan. Whisk until melted and incorporated into milk, then proceed with tempering the egg mixture.

Whisk 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder and ¼ teaspoon espresso powder (or ½ teaspoon instant coffee granules) along with the sugar, cornstarch and salt.

Omit vanilla bean or extract.

Anna Thomas Bates is a mother and writer living in southern Wisconsin. Find more recipes and stories on her blog, tallgrasskitchen.com. Email her at [email protected].

Pudding & Desserts with Bill & Sheila

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