Tangelo-Tangerine Pudding, Vanilla Pudding

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.