Hi all – Eva from Eva Bakes here again! I’m here to share a super simple, no-fuss recipe that will be perfect for summer.
You know how nutritionists and doctors like to tell you to “shop the perimeter” at the grocery store? The reason is that you can avoid most of the pre-packaged foods in the middle of the store. That way you get the fresh fruits, vegetables and proteins near the refrigerated sections.
Well, that strategy doesn’t always work for us. We always have to go through the baking aisle as one of our first stops. One of the items in the baking aisle are those pre-packaged shelf-stable puddings. Addie likes to nag me about buying them. Then when we reach the yogurt aisle (along the perimeter, mind you), we see the refrigerated pudding packs. I just can’t get away from those things.
So it was time to make my own. While I love using egg yolks as thickening agents in recipes, I always have trouble finding suitable recipes for the egg whites. In fact, the last time I had some leftover egg whites, they spilled in the refrigerator and caused a big mess. Ugh. I didn’t want to go through that again so I tried to make a pudding recipe that didn’t require egg yolks.
This one was perfect. With only pantry ingredients, you can make this extremely simple and showstopping pudding fairly quickly. All you need is a saucepan and the patience to stir.
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 pinch of Maldon sea salt (can replace with a sprinkle of table salt)
- ⅛ cup cornstarch
- 1 and ½ cups milk of choice (I used 1%)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a medium sized saucepan set over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and turn the heat down to medium low. Keep stirring and allow the brown sugar to melt a bit (about 2-3 minutes). It will slightly bubble. Do not allow to burn.
- Add the salt and cornstarch and stir constantly until it looks like a thick paste.
- Slowly drizzle in the milk and keep stirring so it doesn't clump up. Turn the heat back up to medium. Allow the mixture to simmer. The pudding should start to thicken around this stage. Allow it to simmer for about a minute while you continuously stir.
- Turn the heat off, take the saucepan off the stove, and stir in the vanilla. Evenly distribute the pudding into 4 small cups. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours until cool.
- Serve with whipped cream, butterscotch or chocolate chips, and enjoy.
- Store pudding in the refrigerator. It will keep for several days, unless you live at my house.
Source: Barely adapted from smitten kitchen
