Since I’ve been off sugar for 2 1/2 weeks my baking has come to almost a full stop. It’s sad really. I miss all that mixing, kneading, stirring and blending. Not to mention the eating of all those glorious sweets that I used to bake on a daily basis. More than anything else I’ve been craving the Italian jam pie crostata. I wouldn’t even try it for the first decade of living in Italy because it looked so dry but in the end it has become one of my favourite desserts. I will be trying to make one this coming week-end (because I’m allowing myself the odd treat on Saturday or Sunday). I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Because I was feeling so bad for my kids and the fact they haven’t been able to enjoy some good home-baking I decided to make them something special for when they got off the school bus today. I was thinking of making a fancy fruit mousse or trifle but in the end I opted for the most basic of desserts. Pudding. Vanilla pudding. I had never made my kids pudding in their little lives so I thought it was time to give it a try. Plus, my mom bought me the most lovely little glasses that were crying to be filled with something delicious and creamy.
My kids liked the pudding but asked why there were little pieces of dirt floating in it. I explained to them about vanilla beans and how wonderful they are. They looked at me like they still thought there was dirt in their pudding.
It’s a simple and quick recipe and I’m amazed at how it turned out so smoothly and lump-less. Read on to get the recipe…
Vanilla Bean Pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup (65 gr) plus 1/4 cup (50 gr) white sugar
1/4 cup (30 gr) cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 vanilla bean (scraped out with knife)
1 Tbsp (15 gr) unsalted butter
1.In large stainless steel bowl whisk together 1/3 cup (65 gr) of the sugar, cornstarch, salt, eggs and yolk. Set aside.
2. Pour the remaining 3 cups of milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan with the remaining 1/4 cup (50 gr) of sugar and bring just to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and slowly pour hot milk mixture into egg /sugar mixture, whisking constantly until smooth.
4. Tranfer mixture to a clean and heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture has the consistency of mayonaise (3-5 minutes).
5. If necessary pour through strainer to remove any lumps. Pour into large bowl (or smaller glasses like me) and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for minimum two hours. You can garnish with toasted nuts, coconut or whatever you like!
Enjoy! {recipe found on Joy of Baking site}
Aren’t these the most lovely little glasses you’ve ever seen? They are the perfect size for a rich dessert. Next I’ll be serving some of my husband’s Belgian Chocolate Mousse in them. But it will have to be a week-end because that’s something I won’t be able to resist eating.
Jillian In Italy 
Hmmmm this pudding “with dirt” looks so cute in those polka dotted glasses! And so simple that I might try this as a non-cook 😉
If you don’t want the “dirt look” you can always use vanilla extract instead. Let me know how it turns out!
I love puddings and vla. ( Dutch word) Sometimes I make it self. This week custard with pepernoten (very small cookies). The kids love it.
What a nice glasses!
Greetings from Holland.
Pepernoten en vla zijn zo lekker! Wij hebben juist 3 grote zakken pepernoten gekocht voor Sinterklaas.