![Creamy Mashed Potatoes](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/10/27/dining/kc-creamy-mashed-potatoes1/kc-creamy-mashed-potatoes1-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Vanilla Pudding
![Vanilla Pudding](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/06/04/dining/Vanilla-Pudding/Vanilla-Pudding-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 2½cups half-and-half or whole milk
- ⅔cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3tablespoons cornstarch
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Put 2 cups of half-and-half or milk, sugar and salt in a small or medium saucepot over medium-low heat. If using a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into milk or half-and-half using small sharp knife, then add pod. Cook just until mixture begins to steam.
- Step 2
Combine cornstarch and remaining milk or half-and-half in a bowl and blend; there should be no lumps. Fish pod from pot and discard. Add cornstarch mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick. Stir in butter and vanilla extract, if using.
- Step 3
Pour mixture into a 1-quart dish or 4 to 6 small ramekins or bowls. Put plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent formation of a skin, or do not cover if you like skin. Refrigerate until chilled, and serve within a day, with whipped cream if you like. Whisk to remove lumps if needed.
- To make chocolate pudding, shave or finely chop 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate. Stir into pudding with the butter.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I agree, less sugar is sweet enough. 1/2 cup or less. So comforting and delightful! Enjoyed with fresh berries in summer, will enjoy plain or with toasted coconut in cooler months.
I prefer puddings not too sweet, and to hold shape so can top them and not have it disappear, so I increased cornstarch to 1/4 cup, decreased sugar to 1/3 cup, and with that it works out great. Served it with strawberry rhubarb sauce (rhubarb cooked with some grocery store strawberries that were a bit crunchy with just enough sugar to balance the sweet/tart with the creamy sweet of the pudding. Made a great midweek dessert - add a cookie and a parfait glass for a nice end to a company meal.
I just made this with coconut milk, and it came out great - delicious coconut-vanilla flavour combo.
Delicious! The tiniest bit on the sweet side, so I will probably slightly decrease the sugar next time.
Been using this recipe since 2010. Sometimes it is to runny. Or to thick. Or it scorches. Cooking it on an electric stove is the worst. Now I have gas, a good non-stick saucepan. Still it varies. Box pudding in the store isn't the same. I remember tasting my grandmother's pudding. Usually she added fruit or cherries. Usually it was eaten warm. Sometimes it was to runny, or thick. She called it poor man's pudding, because it was not store bought. With this recipe I taste her pudding in every bite
The pudding will start to weep -- that is, to ooze a little liquid -- after a day or so. Still perfectly edible, and many folk won't mind, but picky eaters or dinner party perfectionists might.
The vanilla pod needs to be fished out/removed. : )
This was delicious but too sweet. Following others’ advice, I cut back the sugar to 1/2 cup. Still too sweet. I’m wondering if the recipe is meant to say 1/3 cup instead of 2/3 cup. I made it with whole milk and vanilla extract, adding the butter. Still very good although the appearance was white and bland. I think vanilla bean flakes would really make it prettier.
This is way too much sugar... 1/3 to 1/2 cup is enough. Alternatively, eat it with a lot of whipped cream.
I made the chocolate variation and it was a big hit with family and friends. It's nice to have an egg-free dessert available to use when entertaining friends with allergies.
I used 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream, also added 3 ounces dark chocolate, no butter but same amount of sugar. Scrumptious, Recipe is very forgiving with all these changes made and the pudding turned out perfectly! Love this recipe! Next time might add butterscotch. berries or toasted nuts. Very quick and easy to make for a dinner party or just a blah november day.
I made the chocolate variation with very dark chocolate. The sweetness was perfect, at least for this variation. I’ve never been very interested in pudding until I had a quart of half and half just expired from the holidays and needed to find something to do with this. THIS WAS IT! Pudding is now something I’m excited about, lol.
I really thought I had screwed this one up when I put it in the fridge (very soupy, some lumps), but 12 hours later it wound up being some of the best vanilla pudding I've ever had. Definitely on the sweet side as some have said but not in a bad, sickly sweet way -- I wouldn't reduce the sugar, personally. Give this one a shot.
I went with 1/3 c. sugar and that was sweet enough for me. Upped the vanilla a bit (I had an extra 1/2 bean vanilla to use). Nice!
I made with 1/3 cup sugar - thinking 1/4 cup at most next time!
I usually laugh at people who say they made the recipe exactly as written but substituted…. My husband is a dairy intolerant diabetic, so I made this with almond milk and sugar free sweetener. Amazingly it was good! He said he would definitely eat it again.
I made this pudding with 2% milk and Stevia - <1/2 tsp. Off heat, I added some Bustelo instant espresso and Hersey’s sugar-free chocolate chips (they are yummy). The resulting chocolate pudding had a good texture and pretty good taste. The coffee and chocolate chips masked the aftertaste of the artificial sugar, which tastes metallic to me. It can’t take the place of a big old slab of chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, but it satisfied my dessert craving in a low-fat, no-sugar way.
Followed helpful tips from the community and it turned out fantastic: - 1/3 cup of sugar (perfect amount IMO - not too sweet but not bland either) - 4-6 tablespoons of cornstarch to make it a bit more firm - Oat milk instead of just milk or half-half - just preference here.
Wow, this pudding was incredible! The texture was silky smooth- almost velvety. The vanilla bean really upped the flavor and experience, but I do think it would have been just fine with a vanilla extract or a vanilla paste. I did reduce the sugar to 1/2 C and all who had it at our small dinner party agreed that it was perfect- not cloying or overpowering in sweetness. It was served with a homemade blackberry sauce and some of last season's canned peaches. Divine!
I doubled the recipe and it just never thickened much. I probably had it over the heat for 20 minutes and it just never thickened. It also had a grainy texture. The flavor was nice, but that would depend on what type of vanilla you used. We had soup for dinner and I just called it soup for dessert.
I made this today adding a tablespoon of Hersheys special dark cocoa powder and some orange extract, not vanilla. Used 2% milk and heavy cream, and brown sugar. Tastes very good although not as thick as I expected. More like the consistency of Junket, if anyone remembers that yummy product. Perhaps sitting in the fridge longer will thicken it up. Would make again.
I tried making this as a way to use up milk that was slightly past its prime. It refused to set properly, unfortunately, so I threw the whole gloopy mess into my ice cream maker. The results were delicious! (I’ve also done this with pies that didn’t fully set - threw them in, crust and all, and the results were always excellent.)
Used 1/3 cup sugar, turned out excellent in my banana pudding. It was just the right amount for 2 bananas and about 24 wafers, to make 3-4 servings in a loaf pan.
I omitted the salt, halved the sugar and the vanilla bean, and used our local very rich coconut milk to make this vegan. At half the sugar it was still too sweet, but the coconut and vanilla flavors blended and stood out beautifully.
Cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup, but otherwise followed the recipe. quick and esy. Trid it with chocolate as well. Again, quick and easy and everyone loved it.
Less sugar is a great idea next time I will use brown sugar, egg yolks, vanilla bean if I have it. I will make sure to temper in the yolks and strain it just in case. Delicious as is took a while thicken.
1/3 c sugar For part 2, turn the heat down pretty low; scorches easily! Don’t forget the vanilla (but if you do, you can stir it into the individual bowls
Agreed about the sugar. 1/3 cup is plenty. I used tw percent milk and that worked fine.
The pudding tastes great with brown sugar
I will agree that it is too sweet. I cut the sugar down to a scant 1/2 cup and still too sweet. I wish I'd read through the comments before starting. Otherwise, it is very easy to make and tastes good.
Advertisement