STIRRED PUDDINGS & CUSTARDS

CLASSIC PUDDINGS
Simple Vanilla Pudding
Homemade Instant Pudding Mix
Rich Vanilla Pudding
Simple Chocolate Pudding
Rich Chocolate Custard
Classic Crème Anglaise
Butterscotch Pudding

NEW FAVORITES
Double Coconut Cream Pudding
with Coconut Brittle
Toasted Coconut Brittle
Pumpkin Spice Pudding
with Honey Caramel Sauce
Honey Caramel Sauce
Malted Milk Pudding
with Hot Fudge Sauce
Old-Fashioned Hot Fudge Sauce
No-Bake Crème Brûlée

FRUITY PUDDINGS
Banana Pudding Supreme with
Caramelized Bananas
Caramelized Bananas
Toasted Coconut
Pineapple Pudding
with Toasted Coconut
Lemon and Sour Cream Custard
Caramel Pudding with Buttered
Apples
Scarlet Rose and Berry Pudding
with Whipped Cream

NUT & CHOCOLATE
PUDDINGS
Roasted Pistachio Pudding
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Peanut Butter and Honey Pudding with
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Nutella Pudding
with Hazelnut Brittle
Hazelnut Brittle

EXTRA-RICH BUDINOS
Maple-Bourbon Budino
with Spiced Pecans
Spiced Maple Pecans
Cheesecake Budino
with Brandied Cherry Sauce
Brandied Cherry Sauce
Chocolate-Butterscotch Budino
Chai–White Chocolate Budino

Plain vanilla pudding is the first sort of dessert many of us encounter as children. I have a hunch, though, that most kids think pudding like this comes out of a plastic cup or from a box of magic powder whisked into milk. But given how easy vanilla pudding is to make from scratch, there is room here for surprise and delight — you can make this stuff at home with no little box to help you, and it tastes so much better.

This chapter contains creamy old-fashioned puddings, thickened with cornstarch and eggs and made on top of the stove. Most of the classic puddings here can be made in just fifteen minutes, plus chilling time (if you like to eat your pudding firm and cold from the fridge).

We start with basic vanilla pudding, and build on that with more complex flavors: pumpkin spice with honey caramel, Nutella with hazelnut brittle, roasted pistachio, toasted coconut.

The flavors that work best in these cooked puddings are ones that stand up to longer cooking: darker, richer flavors like chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, vanilla, pistachio, pumpkin, spices. If you are looking for a creamy pudding with a brighter flavor like strawberry, mango, or another fruit, try a mousse or panna cotta instead; those methods are better for fresh fruit.

These puddings are not complicated. Let me tell you right here what you need in your fridge and pantry for homemade vanilla pudding: milk, cream, cornstarch, vanilla, and a bit of sugar. That's it. So put away that box and pick up a whisk!

BUDINO, CUSTARD, PASTRY CREAM: WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Puddings go by many names, and these can be interchangeable and confusing. Take custard. Some cooks consider custard a pudding with eggs that also happens to be baked. But in England custard is specifically a thin sauce of cream and eggs that is cooked on the stovetop and meant to be ladled over fruit or cake. And while we're in England, let's not forget that there the word pudding itself just means dessert! (Which leads to some confusion with my English friends when I say I am writing a book about pudding; I have to quickly explain that it's in the American sense, not in the more all-encompassing British meaning.)

Or take budino, which means "pudding" in Italian, but is sometimes taken to mean a baked pudding cake, and at other times an extra-rich pudding. I love the playful sound of the word, bouncing yet thick like a clotted pudding, so I have adopted it here to designate a collection of extra-rich puddings meant to be savored in very small quantities. I use a shot glass or a small ramekin to serve them. I like serving pudding in these tiny quantities at parties and after a luxurious dinner; they offer just a taste of something sweet, without overwhelming.

MILK, CREAM, AND FAT IN STOVETOP PUDDING

Dairy's role in thick and creamy puddings is very simple: Fat equals thickness. The fattier your dairy, the thicker and more luxurious your pudding will be. This is why I formulated these recipes for whole milk and why I do not recommend substituting skim or low-fat milk. Whole milk gives just the right amount of richness to these puddings.

Too much fat, however, can be as bad as too little. Puddings made with too much cream can be unpleasantly grainy, as the fat beads up and coats your tongue. So I try in each recipe to give the right balance of milk to cream for optimal eating pleasure.

» The takeaway: Just trust me! Use whole milk and cream in these recipes — it's worth it.

ALTERNATIVE DAIRIES IN STOVETOP PUDDINGS

I found that the lower fat of soy, rice, and almond milk — not to mention their various reactions to heat — meant that alternative milks did not do well in the types of puddings in this chapter. Of course, you are free to experiment with alternative milks — but given that most of these recipes also depend on cream, I would again recommend that dairy-free cooks look to the grain pudding and panna cotta chapters, which contain a few dairy-free recipes and variations.

» The takeaway: Dairy-free folks, don't despair! There are plenty of dairy-free recipes in later chapters! Grain pudding, panna cotta, and mousse are categories much better suited to dairy substitutes.

MAKING THICK AND CREAMY STOVETOP PUDDING

CORNSTARCH AND PUDDING

Cornstarch is a fine powdered starch made from corn that is used to thicken sauces and, in this case, puddings. It is tasteless, inexpensive, and easy to work with. It is not as powerful a thickener as arrowroot, but it is better for thickening dairy.

When working with cornstarch in puddings, there are two chief concerns: how to keep the mixture lump-free, since cornstarch likes to lump up when combined with liquid, and how long to boil the mixture, since cornstarch needs to be boiled in order to thicken. If you do not boil cornstarch long enough, it will not thicken at all or it will thicken then quickly separate after refrigeration.

» To keep the pudding lump-free, whisk the cornstarch smooth in a small amount of liquid before adding it to the pudding. This is called making a slurry.

» To thicken the cornstarch, I call for two solid minutes of boiling in most of the puddings. This should be timed from the moment the pudding comes to a full rolling boil, with numerous bubbles popping up to the surface. By this point, the pudding will have already begun to thicken. Allowing for two minutes of full rolling boil from this point on is enough to fully...