Today-I’m channeling my inner child. With pudding. Pudding was a big thing in my house growing up. We always had a box of pudding mix in the cupboard. Now that I’m older, my love of a good pudding has not changed; although now I make it from scratch. It really is not hard to crank out a quick pudding from scratch. You should not let it scare you; most ingredients you need you probably already have on hand. I’m having child hood flashbacks and I might have to make pudding more often. Another child hood flashback is the beloved creamsickle. Oh as a child, how many creamsickles I would consume during summer. Icy, tart orange with creamy vanilla; a classic flavor combo. I found this recipe for tangelo-tangerine pudding in Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison, and I thought it would be fun to make a creamsickle inspired pudding parfait by making a vanilla pudding as well. Channel your inner child. Enjoy.
Tangelo-Tangerine Pudding
yield: 4 servings
(recipe adapated from Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison)
2 tsp. tangelo or tangerine zest
2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Cups fresh tangelo or tangerine juice (~10-12 tangelo’s)
tiny pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. orange flower water or 1/2 tsp. orange extract
1. Smash the tangerine zest with the sugar to moisten the sugar and release the aromatic oils. Transfer to a saucepan along with the cornstarch, juice and salt. Stir to dissolve the cornstarch.
2. Over medium high heat; bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring until the juice has thickened; this will take about 4 minutes. Let the mixture boil about 2 minutes while stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter and orange-flower water or orange extract. If you are making a layered parfait, pour into a container and chill or divide into juice or champagne glasses and chill. It will take about 2 hours to chill until set.
Vanilla Pudding
yield: 4 servings
2 1/2 Cups whole milk, divided
1/2 Cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1. In a small to medium bowl whisk the cornstarch along with 1/2 Cup of the milk. Add the yolks and whisk to combine; set aside.
2. Place the remaining 2 cups milk in a saucepan along with the sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; then slowly pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the bowl with the cornstarch mixture to temper the mixture. Pour that back into the saucepan and bring the pudding to a boil over medium high heat while stirring with a rubber spatula. Let the mixture boil for about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Pour the pudding into a container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding. Let the pudding chill. If you are not making a parfait; you can pour the pudding into 4 containers.
Parfait assembly:
Layer the puddings in a glass or decorative cups; alternating the two puddings. Top with whipped cream if desired or creme fraiche. Serve chilled.
Mmm, pudding and creamsickles. I’m going to have to try this one. Thanks Sis for the trip down memory lane!
Yum! These look delicious. My husband loves creamsicles, so I may have to try these soon!
Thanks Laura! I really liked the combination; next time I make it, I think I would do two layers of each; as I also had leftover vanilla pudding. I hope you give it a try. I’ll be sure to check out your blog too! Thanks, Suzie