Kristin's Homemade Vanilla Pudding

Amazing! Like ice cream in pudding form. It's so rich, creamy and delicious.  I find you can eat it normally, like you would pudding. But it works in place of custard or ice cream on a dessert like apple crisp.  You can easily use it to whip together a tasty treat of banana pudding.  A big hit for all ages. Plus, it's an easy use for those extra egg yolks if you've made the delicious white bread recipe. Enjoy!

 Delicious homemade vanilla pudding on apple crisp. Notice the delicious vanilla bean flecks you get from using the vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract. Yum!

Kristin’s Homemade Vanilla Pudding

Place in a saucepan over medium heat:

2 3/4 cup milk (lactose-free works great)

1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Stir occasionally, letting the mixture come to a boil.  Meanwhile, prepare the following egg yolk mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix:

1/4 cup milk (lactose-free works great)

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup cornstarch

Once milk and sugar has come to a boil, let boil 1 minute.  Then add in the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.   The mixture should thicken quickly.  Keep stirring until mixture has begun boiling again. 

Remove from heat and add:

1 - 3 tsp vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract (the bean paste is absolutely lovely in the pudding, if you can locate it, *see note below)

Pour into one large bowl or smaller individual serving-sized containers. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is on the surface of the pudding to avoid a tough layer from forming on top.

Serve warm or cold. This pudding is thick and creamy.  It can be used like a custard or ice cream on top of desserts, if desired.

Enjoy!

* Note: you can order vanilla bean paste off amazon.com or amazon.ca.  I really like the Nielsen-Massey brand. You can use it in place of vanilla extract in any recipe, too! Yum!