Homemade Vanilla Pudding

I felt I needed to give Vanilla it's due when it comes to pudding.  After all, it is the number one flavor of choice in ice cream!  Since my mom made both, I wanted to share this recipe and show you again how easy it is to make pudding and alleviate those "nasty" preservatives found in the box version.

Ingredients from the box of Jell-O Vanilla Pudding

Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Contains Less than 2% Natural

and Artificial Flavor, Salt, Disodium Phosphate and Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate,

(For Thickening), Mono- and Diglycerides (Prevent Foaming), Yellow 5, Yellow6,

Artificial Color, and BPA (Preservative)

I think what bothers me the most is definitely the BPA--remember it was banned from water bottles!

Vanilla Pudding

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Mix well in a 2-quart saucepan.

1 1/2 cups Half-&-Half

1 1/2 cups 2% Milk

3 large egg yolks

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 T butter

Use a whisk to slowly stir in the mix and cream into this mixture.

Heat over medium/low, whisking to prevent scorching until slightly thickening.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, slowly add some of the milk mixture to the eggs, whisking to combine.  This is called tempering and prevents the eggs from turning to "scramble eggs"!  Once you've added about half of the mixture to the egg yolks, transfer it to the saucepan.

Continue to cook the pudding, whisking constantly, 2-3 minutes or until mixture thickens and begins to boil.  You can do the "finger test."  On a rubber spatula, dipped into the pudding, run you finger down the center. If the mixture does not cover the open area, it's thick enough.

Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract (I used Vanilla Paste so I could get the little vanilla bean flecks) and the butter.

Ladle pudding into six individual dishes.  Cover with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Garnish with whipped cream and berries, if desired.  

Now wasn't that as easy?  Enjoy!

My recipe was actually a request from a new friend and her husband who came for a quick visit today.  A fellow North Carolinian and really someone who was familiar, but we had never met.  Her cousin and my sister have been best friends since our family moved to Maryland in 1954.  I'm happy to have a new friend and fellow baker that lives so close.  

Buttermilk Cherry~Vanilla Bundt Cake

Happy Father's Day!  A day set aside to honor fathers and celebrate fatherhood and the paternal bonds that have influence society.  Coincidentally, the day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd to honor her father, a single parent and Civil War veteran who raised six children.  She had originally suggested June 5th, which was her dad's birthday, but because the pastors in the area needed more time to prepare sermons, they decided on the 3rd Sunday instead.  It was introduced to Congress in 1913, but it wasn't until Woodrow Wilson came to Spokane in 1916 was it made official.

My husband has been a great father to our two daughters.  He's been protective, supportive, strong, loving, hard-working, but always taking the time to make sure they knew he was there for them.  A story I'd like to share is from when we lived in California.  The girls (age 12 and 10) wanted to walk to the 7-11 and buy a Slurpee.  After a long debate--the pros and cons, they convinced him that they would be very careful crossing the road and come back right after their purchase.  The girls took off walking down the hill and then to the cross street where the 7-11 was.  They came back with their purchase and big smiles.  However, it wasn't until they were adults that their dad admitted he had watched the entire journey with binoculars from the upstairs window!

The inspiration of this cake comes from The First Lady, Michelle Obama's new cookbook, American Gown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, Buttermilk Blueberry Bundt.

We've had very cool weather and unfortunately our blueberries are a few more weeks away, but our cherries are certainly in our Farmer's Markets and along with some of my fragrant Tahitian Vanilla Beans, this cake took on a different look and taste.

Buttermilk Cherry~Vanilla Bundt Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Vanilla Beans, split and scraped
4 large eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 2/3 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups sweet cherries, pitted and chopped
1 1/2 cups Biscoff cookies (or Vanilla wafers) crushed  (optional)

Pit and chopped sweet cherries.

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with a non-stick baking spray.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter until fluffy.  Add the sugar and continue beating for 5 to 6 minutes on medium speed.  Scrape down the sides.  Add the vanilla beans "paste" and mix to combine.  Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the vanilla extract.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the buttermilk.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium/high one more minute.

Fold the chopped cherries into the batter.

Use a rolling pin to smash about a dozen or more cookies in a plastic bag.   Spoon the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and sprinkle the crushed cookies on top of the cake. Bake in preheated oven 50 to 55 minutes.

Use a wooden skewer poked into the center to test if the cake is done.  Allow to cool in the pan about 20 minutes before tuning out onto a serving plate.  I wanted the crumb topping upright, so I covered a baking sheet with parchment and turn the cake out, then flipped it over and placed in on the serving plate.  Dust with confectioners' sugar to finish it off.

To serve, I ladled a warm Vanilla Sauce around the slice.


Vanilla Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 T cornstarch
2 cups boiling water
In a small saucepan, whisk the sugar and cornstarch, then, slowly add the boiling water while continuing to whisk.
Heat on medium until the mixture is thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.  Remove from the heat and add:
4 T unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 Vanilla bean, split and scraped
Stir to blend.  Ladle or pour this sauce on the plate and add the slice of cake on top.

My hubby arrived home today from a business trip and I know this cake will put a smile on his face...just like our girls had when they thought they had walked down to the 7-11.  Enjoy!

  


 

Pretty, Simple Vanilla Bundt Cake

This has been a tough week, for so many reasons and today, I just wanted to get back to simple.  Like when hearing our grandson burst into giggles as "Pop Pop" stands behind me, when we're skyping, and putting his head next to mine announces, "Mimi has two heads!"  Or when we saw this video of Maddie taking a hula lesson in Maui for the first time.  I thought about the stories my mother told me, when her father was stationed at Pearl Harbor in the Marine Corp, of her own experiences.  Simple, but meaningful pleasures.

Vanilla is the #1 flavor in ice cream and the second most expensive flavoring, after saffron, mainly because growing it is so labor intensive.  It is derived from the Vanilla orchid and is the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina, meaning sheath or pod.  There are three major cultivars of vanilla: Mexico, Madagascar, and Tahiti.  I was introduced to Tahitian vanilla two and a half years ago and I have never wanted to use anything else in my baking or jam making and it's my hubby's favorite flavor in his morning latte!

Pretty, Simple Vanilla Bundt Cake
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3 Vanilla beans, split and scraped
1 T. Kentucky bourbon (optional, but really brings out the flavor)
3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with a baking spray or brush with melted butter and dust with flour.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla beans and the bourbon (if using) and beat well.

Thought you'd like to see the progress of my homemade Vanilla extract--still several months away from using, possibly for my Fall baking!

Measure all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together.  Add to the batter, alternatively with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat 1 minute more to thoroughly combine.  Stir in the white chocolate chips.  

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out cleanly when tested.  Let cake cool about ten minutes in the pan before inverting onto a serving plate.

The cake is so moist, it's perfect served plain or with your favorite fruit (i.e., strawberries, peaches, etc)  I added a vanilla bean glaze, but you could just dust it with confectioners' sugar.

Vanilla Bean Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. light Karo syrup
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2-3 T hot water

Stir all ingredients together and pour over the cake while warm.  

I know this sounds totally cliche, but take time to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer... and if it includes cake, even better.  Enjoy!