Recipe: Puddin's Vanilla Pudding

PUDDIN'S VANILLA PUDDING



"It may seem like heresy to some, but I love vanilla so much that chocolate comes in a distant second. Growing up, I got in the habit of dabbing my mom's Madagascar vanilla extract behind my ears, and it quickly became my signature scent. I usually avoid using flavor extracts in my recipes, but this one is an exception-the round, floral, and musky notes of good-quality vanilla extract reinforce the flavor achieved by infusing the milk and cream with a scraped vanilla bean. And you can forget about vanilla's reputation for being "boring - even sworn chocoholics are converted once they taste this version. One spoonful of this pure, simple treat, and you'll see why."

2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
6 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan heat the milk, cream, and vanilla bean and seeds until steaming but not bailing. Remove from heat and allow to steep 30 minutes. Chill completely in refrigerator, 1 to 2 hours.

Add sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and salt to saucepan and whisk vigorously.

Place pot over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to thicken, 5 to 6 minutes. (Once you can lift the whisk from the pudding and it leaves a faint shadow, it's done. Pudding will seem fairly loose, nut it will thicken up further as it chills.)

Strain the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing pudding through sieve with a silicone spatula. Whisk in vanilla extract.

Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding, and chill completely in refrigerator, 2 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings
Source: Puddin' - Recipes from New York City's hottest dessert shop by Clio Goodman with Adeena Sussman

"The classic American treat finally gets its due: foolproof pudding recipes, from irresistible standards to inventive modern twists, by the chef and owner of New York City's popular pudding destination."

Excerpted by Recipelink.com from PUDDIN' by Clio Goodman Copyright 2013 by Clio Goodman. Excerpted by permission of Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.