Caramel Pudding

I had so much fun making this recipe! It was truly and “edible experiment”. Cooking sugar might seem a bight scary, but it actually isn’t too hard if you watch the stove the whole time. If you are going to make this recipe, make sure you can devote your full attention to it. Multitasking will result in burned sugar. I am so glad I gave this recipe a try, it was so much fun to make and it turned out DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

• 4 C. milk
• 6 TBSP. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 C. sugar
• 6 TBSP. water
• whipped cream for topping

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 C of the milk with cornstarch, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Set aside. It is important to do this first so that you have it ready.
2. In a large sauce pan, whisk up the sugar and water.  It should look kind of see through like this:

3. Let it boil over moderately high heat. DO NOT STIR. I know it is hard to resist, but just let it be. You can swish it around using the pot handle, or lift it off the heat for a few seconds if it seems to be getting too hot. But don’t stir it or it will gum up and be impossible to work with, not to mention to get off your whisk.

4. Let it boil until it turns a deep amber color. The darker the more caramel flavor. Mine looked like this, but I probably could have let it get a tiny bit darker. Watch it like a hawk because the caramel changes colors quickly. .

5. Remove from the heat. Slowly add the rest of the milk to the caramel. Slowly. The caramel will begin to seize up. Don’t worry. It is supposed to. Put the pan back on the heat over medium heat and stir until the caramel has dissolved again.  Watch closely, because the milk will start to foam up quickly as it comes to a simmer.

6. Simmer over moderately low heat until the mixture thickens just slightly and deepens in color, about 10 minutes. Then gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Cook again over moderate heat, stirring, until the pudding thickens, about one or two minutes. The pudding may seem pretty loose, but it will get nice a thick in the fridge.

7. If the pudding is lumpy, strain the pudding in a fine strainer set over a bowl. Push it through the strainer. I skipped this step and my pudding turned out great!

8. Cool the pudding in the fridge for a couple hours or until chilled and set. To avoid a pudding put plastic wrap over the container and push it down so that it touches the top of the pudding.

 

Recipe found of www.joythebaker.com originally from www.smittenkitchen.com