Vanilla Pudding

Double Vanilla "Ice Cream" Pudding

If you read this blog regularly, you know that my inspiration materializes from my desire to use ingredients that I already have on hand. See, I will become enamored with a recipe, have to try it, purchase the ingredients, and then get stuck with the remnants of said ingredients. If the ingredient is ubiquitous like chicken, I'd have no waste. But what do you do with something like an opened can of evaporated milk? Can you use this milk on cereal? Can you freeze it? How long does it keep in the fridge? My mind was aflutter with questions. To be on the safe side, I decided that I would find a recipe that called for at least a cup of evaporated milk. My first point of research was the can itself.  I noticed that the can proudly branded itself as "the cooking milk." So, I thought about recipes that called for milk and immediately recalled my last post for chocolate pudding. 

I'm aware that vanilla pudding is its own delight and should be treated as such, so I consulted several recipes and decided to use this recipe, with some tweaks. My recipe calls for two types of milk, so I thought, "Self, why not use two types of vanilla." The end result yielded a soft, creamy pudding that tastes like soft-serve vanilla bean ice cream; the good kind. I recommend using the best vanilla that you can get your hands on. Also, if you cannot access vanilla paste, but have vanilla beans on hand, use that. Simply steep the vanilla pods in the milks. Have vanilla sugar? Use that-I'm sure you get my drift. 

Happy cooking and Go Ravens! 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c evaporated milk

3/4 c whole milk

3 tblsp* cornstarch

1/2 c white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tblsp unsalted butter

Warm the milks to a bubble over medium heat. Meanwhile combine salt, sugar, and cornstarch together. When the milk is ready, sift the dry ingredients into the hot milk. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the mixture coats one side of the utensil, but do not boil. When ready, take off of the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla flavorings. Pour into serving containers and chill. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin forming. 

*This makes a soft-serve texture. If you'd like a firmer pudding, you may want to increase the amount of cornstarch. Naturally, you should sift in the additional cornstarch; this helps to minimize the risk of lumps.

Can you see the specks of vanilla beans?