Baking Blocks is a brand new series! Each post will introduce a baking/pastry fundamental in its simplest form, and offer customizations. Then you can experiment, add different flavors, and tailor it to your tastes.
When I started baking, I would dream up all these dishes in my head, but I didn’t have the foundational knowledge or recipes to execute them. I was routinely overwhelmed and confused. I remember trying to find “the best” pastry cream recipe online, and they all differed so much, from whole eggs vs. egg yolks (sometimes a ton of egg yolks), cornstarch vs. flour, butter, cream, etc. Despite having a plethora of excellent recipes to choose from, I wasn’t quite sure how or why one recipe might be better than another, especially in regard to the specific application I wanted to use it for.
This week, we’re starting with a delicious plain vanilla pudding. It’s simple on its own (and very easy to make), but ripe with opportunity for creative twists and more complexities.
Black tea pudding with orange blossom, coconut sugar-spiced and buttered rum pudding, breakfast pudding (with cereal milk and egg yolk)... These are just some of the dishes I’ve made using the base recipe below.
In addition to plain pudding, I discuss different variations, including:
Adding butter
Adding egg yolk
Swapping sweeteners (brown sugar, raw sugar, and coconut sugar)
Swapping extracts and essences (almond, pandan, orange blossom, rose, etc.) and spirits (St-Germain, Muyu Jasmine Verte, Grand Marnier, rum, etc.)
Milk infusions (zest, teas, coffee, spices, leaves and herbs, cereal, etc.)
There are so many more changes and additions you could try. If you want to use me as a sounding board, I’m here! You can drop any questions in the comments section. Or just share your customizations, I’d love to hear what you come up with :)
Please note, I have not mixed and matched every combo listed. The more you mix and match, the more opportunities there are for textures to change and tastes to interfere, so play at your own risk.
Later this month, I will be posting Pudding 2.0 and sharing my favorite transformations of this recipe featuring chocolate, caramel, and peanuts. I also talk about how to pair fruits and decoratively serve the dish. And from then on, I have 3.0 and 4.0 to share… Stay tuned!
A Pretty Perfect Plain Vanilla Pudding
While this is a basic vanilla pudding, it really is delicious. It reminds me of semi-melted Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream with a creamier texture.
Makes about 7.5 fluid oz of pudding, aka filling 2-3 small cups (please keep this in mind when picking your serving vessel(s)
25g white sugar
9.5-12g cornstarch*
⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
50g heavy cream
150g milk
5g vanilla extract
*9.5-10g cornstarch is pretty perfect quantity if you are decanting the pudding straight into your serving dish. 11.5-12g cornstarch is a nice amount if you plan to make a batch, let it cool, and then re-whisk it before pouring into your serving cups (this will prevent a pudding skin from forming and homogenize the texture more). See more notes in the recipe + textural differences in the video below.
You can find more ingredient information and tips for conversions on my conversion cheat-sheet page. If you have any further questions, please feel free to leave a comment!
Before you begin, decide if you will be pouring the finished pudding directly into serving vessel(s) OR if you will let it cool off completely, whisk it, and then decant it, see note above on how this affects the cornstarch quantities. I prefer the latter; it makes the texture a tad smoother and prevents pudding skins from forming, but it is an extra step and adds extra dishes.
Place a sieve over a measuring cup or bowl and set aside. If you are immediately decanting the finished pudding, grab your vessel(s). I used mini silver coupes (because they’re cute), but you can definitely get creative here :) You could also use espresso cups, cordial glasses, aperitif glasses, etc.–anything under 4oz is nice.
Place your sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small pot. Whisk to combine, ensuring all of the cornstarch is broken up and mixed in with the sugar. Shake the pan so that the sugar and cornstarch settle on the bottom (not the edges, where they can get stuck).
Then add in your heavy cream and whisk to combine. Once thoroughly mixed, add your milk and vanilla extract (if using, see the variation section on extracts below). Whisk to combine.
Transfer the pot to the stove and place it over medium heat. Whisk the entire time and be sure to scrape up the entire bottom and sides of the pan as you whisk. Once at a full boil, count 15 ‘Mississippi’s. Then remove from the heat and pour your mixture over your sieve, straining and removing any browned bits/clumps (if you are making a version with egg yolk, spices, leaves, etc., this is especially necessary). Pass it through the sieve and into your bowl/measuring cup.
If you plan on immediately decanting into your serving vessel, then pour the hot pudding into your cups/glasses/serving vessels. Then cover it with cling film (you can cover the pudding directly with cling film to prevent a pudding skin, but it may pull when you lift it off) or just place the serving vessels in a large storage container and transfer to the fridge to set up for at least 3 hours. (If you are making a bigger batch and serving it in one big dish, it will take longer to set up, possibly overnight.)
If you plan on letting the pudding set up fully and then re-whisking and decanting, cover the surface of the pudding directly with cling film and transfer to the fridge to set up for 1-2 hours. Then remove it from the fridge, whisk to loosen, and decant into your serving vessels. Cover these vessels with cling film (but it will pull when you lift it off), or place them in a large storage container (or on a baking sheet with a mixing bowl on top), and let the pudding set up again for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Variation: Butter
Adding butter makes for a creamier, richer mouth feel that coats the tongue a bit more, and adds a buttercream frosting-like flavor.
To add: Use 30g of butter per 200g of liquid dairy. After the pudding has been removed from the heat, whisk the butter in until thoroughly combined (be sure it’s fully mixed in). This quantity of butter will only thicken the pudding ever-so-slightly, so there is no need to adjust the cornstarch quantity.
Variation: Egg Yolk
Adding egg yolk is similar to butter in that it makes for a creamier, richer mouth feel that coats the tongue more. However, the egg-yolky flavor is more reminiscent of créme anglaise. I find the flavor far more subtle than the butter and quite enjoyable.
To add: Use 1 egg yolk per 200g of liquid dairy (eg add 1 egg yolk to the recipe above), and reduce the cornstarch by 1-1.5g per egg yolk added. After whisking together the flour and sugar, and adding the cream, whisk your egg yolk in. Then add in your dairy.
Variation: Sweeteners
Different sugars have different flavors, and it can be nice to use a combination of them to add a little je ne sais quoi to the pudding. If you go all in on one sugar, it may be a bit too intense, so I would suggest starting with 50:50 and adjusting to your liking in future trials.
To add: For all the sugars listed below, simply whisk them into the cornstarch and salt as the recipe directs. Whatever you do, don’t add honey.
Ratios:
Raw sugar: Replace 1:1 (and no need to use half here, you can go all in)
Brown sugar: Slightly less sweet than white sugar. I like making 200g of pudding with 15g of dark brown sugar and 15g of white sugar.
Coconut sugar: 30% less sweet than white sugar, so I recommend a split of 15g of coconut sugar and 18g of white sugar. Reduce the milk quantity by 5g. This will give a nice and subtle coconutty flavor.
Variation: Extracts, Essences, and Liqueurs
You can either swap out vanilla extract or combine it with an essence, liqueur, or another extract. How much of the extract, liqueur, or essence you use will depend on how strong it is and how you want it to balance with other flavors. I recommend starting with .5-2g for extracts and essences (start with 1/8th tsp and taste as you add), and 5-10g for spirits. If you are using spirits, reduce the amount of milk by 5-10g (which I forgot to do in the video above).
To add: After the pudding has been removed from the heat and sieved, add the essence, liqueur, or extract. Whisk it in until thoroughly combined. This keeps the flavors bright and allows you to taste and adjust when the pudding is finished. Please do keep in mind that flavors will mellow out a little once chilled.
Variation: Infusing Dairy
Infusing your dairy before making the pudding adds even more flavor.
I have not tried all of these, so I cannot speak to each and every variation, but the guidelines should be consistent. If you are doing more than one infusion, or adding in extra flavors from sweeteners, extracts, essences, or liqueurs, you will want to half the quantities listed below so that your pudding isn’t too strongly flavored.
Use the following method for all the items below, but follow the quantities and times listed: Heat your milk and cream to 175f, or very hot to the touch. Remove from the heat, add your additional ingredients, and allow them to steep for the times suggested below. Taste it to make sure you like the flavor, sieve out the additive, and then proceed with the recipe.
Tea and coffee: Use 1.5-3g of tea (aka 1 teabag) and steep for 2-3 minutes, or use 5-10g of coarse(!) coffee grounds and steep for 3-5 minutes. For matcha, whisk it into the sugar and cornstarch (top of the recipe) and skip the steeping.
Citrus zest: Zest the fruit using a peeler and give the strips a twist to release the aromas. Use ~2g for lemons or limes, or ~3-4g for oranges and grapefruits. Let steep for ~10 minutes.
Spices: I like to use unground spices. In a recent trial, I used 2 points of a star anise, 2 cloves, 2 allspice berries, and 1/2 of a cinnamon stick. This was super spice forward. I recommend halving these amounts or just using 1-2 spices (keeping the suggested amounts). Allow to steep for 15 minutes before tasting. Adjust and then steep for another 5-15 minutes.
Leaves and herbs: 1 fig leaf (do not include the stem), 2 bay leaves, a small branch of basil bruised in your hand, a small branch of rosemary rapped on the counter, or ½ lemongrass smashed. Steep and taste after 10 minutes. You may want to steep for a total of 30 minutes (which is what I did when adding fig leaf).
Cereal: This variation requires a cold steep. Use 20-25g of cereal per 250g of dairy (there is more dairy in this version of the recipe in order to make up for what the cereal will absorb). Add the dairy and cereal to a bowl and leave it in the fridge to infuse for at least 30 minutes (it can take up to a few hours). Be sure to carefully sieve this one. You don’t want to press on the cereal too much or the mixture will become gummy. Re-measure the dairy and make sure you are at 200g. If not, add more. Then proceed as directed, possibly using a little less cornstarch than you would normally (probably around 1-2g less depending on the cereal’s starch levels). If you use a sugared cereal, I’d also reduce the amount of sugar by 5-10g.
It looks so good! Love the baking blocks series🩷🩷🩷 Where did you get the pudding cups? They look amazing and perfect fit for serving puddings！