Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Caramel Pudding

Caramel pudding ready

I've got news : I've got braces! For the second time! Can you believe that?? I hated having them, some 7-8 years ago, for almost 1 and a half year! Luckily, this time around, it's only a 6 month thing, which, however, involves one surgery! So I had two of my lovely teeth extracted for them, and it was the MOST painful thing I've ever gone through! I couldn't eat for one entire week. And that's where this pudding comes in.

After the pain receded a bit, I was able to eat semi-solid things, and by that time, I was fiercely craving some rich, luscious dessert. I had this pudding from Smitten Kitchen bookmarked ever since she posted it, and it seemed perfect for me. It so was. I'm a little intimidated of caramel, but this was soo easy. With just 5 ingredients and 15 minutes, you achieve a delicious cupful of dulce-de-leche ish delight! The caramel taste was prominent, even though I wimped out and took it off the gas too soon! And it just deepens with time. It's perfect comfort-food.

The first step is to caramelise sugar, which starts off like this -
Caramelising sugar

You want to keep going until you achieve something of this sort, or you could go even furthur if you're not a wuss like me.
Caramelising sugar 2

Once you add the milk, the color really lightens, don't worry, we darken it later, for added caramel goodness :)
Caramel pudding


Caramel pudding
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen,  who adapted from Food & Wine

4 cups milk, whole or 2%
5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup [240 g] sugar

Instructions -
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the milk with the cornstarch, vanilla and salt until smooth. Set aside.
  2. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar with 6 tablespoons of water and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until a deep amber caramel forms, about 8 minutes. Do not leave the stove at any point, there are only ever a few seconds between perfection, and burnt, unusable caramel. Once you are satisfied with the color, remove the pan from the heat.
  3.  SLOWLY whisk in the remaining 3 1/2 cups of milk. You don't want to hurry this up, because the caramel will bubble up like an erupting volcano! Don't worry about the color, which will darken, that is what you want to achieve for maximum flavor! The caramel might clump up as well.
  4. Once all the milk is added, return the pan to the stove, over medium low heat, to dissolve the clumped up caramel. Keep going until the mixture is slightly thicker, and the color has deepened, about 10 minutes.
  5. Now add the milk cornflour mixture to the pan, while constantly stirring. The pudding will thicken up almost immediately, about 1 minute.
  6. Pour into small bowls [keep the serving sizes small]. If you feel you couldn't get all the clumps out, or if you want perfection, you could strain the mixture. I didn't, and you couldn't tell. Also, if you want to avoid the pudding skin, you can lay plastic wrap directly over the bowl, touching the pudding to avoid its formation.
I just happen to really love pudding skin. When I was younger, I remember watching a Seinfeld episode  where Kramer had a genius idea to isolate and sell only pudding skins. And at the time, I fell in LOVE with the idea, and also tried persuading Mom to start such a business!!

Anyway, no matter which way you roll, this pudding is delicious, creamy, and just fills your mouth with the caramel-y goodness that you can see below. The gelatin-y looking bite is just off the edge of the bowl, you can see the creaminess of the pudding below it!

Bite of caramel pudding

28 comments:

  1. this looks delicious. I m really tempted to try it. I m sorry for your teeth. hope you won t get too painful

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  2. Wow, that caramel looks perfect! I'm sorry about your teeth but at least it enabled you to discover this recipe. :) Take care.

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  3. Talk about tooth extraction..I got two of my wisdom tooth extracted a month back..but to be very honest,it was relatively painless for me.I couldn't open my mouth for a day and in two days I was eating solid food.So better!!

    Wish I had seen the Caramel Pudding then..better late than never.A very easy and do-able pudding,on my to-do-list!!

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  4. the caramel pudding looks so tempting..will try it soon..

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  5. Yummmm, I love caramel and can only imagine the creamy goodness of a pudding make of it! Thanks for the recipe!
    ~ingrid

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  6. Oh this looks so great! I love caramel and in a pudding...yes please!!

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  7. Natalie - Thanks so much! Things have really improved now!

    Valerie - Yup, I'm thankful for that! I love a challenge, and it's making me look away from my staples!

    Divya - It wasn't as painful as it was uncomfortable. And I had 2 taken out one after the other, after which the braces were put on immediately. That's what was causing the pain.

    Deepa - Thank you so much. Don't forget to tell me how you liked it!

    Ingrid - You're welcome :D

    Cookies and cups - Try it, you'll be glad <3

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  8. Looks yummy! hey, hope yr teeth r feeling better.

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  9. Owwwch to the braces but YAY to the best excuse to eat caramel pudding, chocolate mousse and icecream ALLL DAY LONG! :)

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  10. yow! I know what it feels like to have braces and nothing's worse than having teeth extracted (root canal, maybe!) been there done that! I'm so glad you could at least have that delicious caramel pudding! looks delish!

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  11. Mmmmm bet that was fabulous! Never had braces, sorry about that :( Hope you have a Happy Easter!

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  12. woh...this pudding is raoming all around blogger world...looks like a yummy one...making this one today...:)

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  13. Yum! Almost makes oral surgery worthwhile, right? :)

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  14. Aha,I see that this pudding is making it's rounds on blogosphere! :) Will try this one soon! And boy! I am so glad that I went ahead and subscribed to Food & Wine! YAYYY!

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  15. that was very brave to photograph the boiling caramel! looks yummy.

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  16. I absolutely love the beautiful colour of the caramel! I'd love to give this a try, but have heard scary stories about burning caramel :P

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  17. Oh poor you. Braces again? I had them a looooooong time ago and my sister lived with them for almost 10 years!!!
    Now its my daughter's turn.

    Lovely pudding.
    I had problems with caramel for so long that even now I always a say a little prayer before I start making it.

    Btw, you actually baked pound cake while on your trip in Rajasthan?

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  18. Thanks a lot for sharing your Caramel pudding recipe. It looks like a great dessert.

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  19. Although I never had surgery, I did have braces for 5 years! Feelin' a little of your pain, and now I'm wanted caramel pudding and my mouth feels just fine right now!

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  20. You brought some nice memories to me with this one: I used to do a pudding like this together with my sister when we were in school. It was soooo good.
    I wish you good luck with your teeth work.

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  21. Oh my, does that ever look fantastic! Wow, yum. Hope your mouth is feeling better. Getting teeth pulled is NO fun.

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  22. i'm glad u feel better! i have to say, i dont miss braces.lol. will be worth it! this looks fabulous btw

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  23. Aparna - They are, now! Thankfully :D

    Vicky - Yup, I sure pigged out!!

    Cakebrain - Hehehhe I've had a root canal done too! Fell and broke my teeth, had to have it done :P

    Amanda - Thank you! It truly was :)

    Shabs - Yup, I noticed. So did you like it??

    Liz - Ha, I wish. Makes it better, though!

    Ria - Oh you lucky girl, I'm expecting a lot of good posts from you!

    Justin - That's me! Brave and adventurous :P

    Zhulaiha - Oh you can't be scared! If I could do it, you can easily do it!

    Aparna - 10 years. Wow! I'm feeling selfishly better!

    Levinson Axelrod - It WAS delicious!

    Katrina - Wow people have had braces for a LONG time! First time it was 1 and 1/2 year, this time half. So I consider myself lucky.

    Anda - Try this and see if it was similar!!

    Jacque - Yup, I'm way better now!! Thank you!

    Mira - A lot of people have had braces, haven't you? Poor us!!! Thanks so much!!

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  24. Love that closeup photo! And with the braces, imagine your beautiful smile at the end of 6 months! :D

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  25. What a wonderful dessert! The caramel version is definitely my favorite!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  26. Lorraine - You're sweet. It's that very thought that is keeping me going :)

    Rosa - You should try it. It tastes delicious! :D

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  27. It has been so long since I last had caramel pudding. Making your own sounds like fun and your looks amazing!

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