In answer to the age-old question: Is there such a thing as too much delicious pudding? Yes....yes there is - but the secret is to pace yourself, and then there is no such thing!!
I had a couple of issues come to a head at the same time:
1. I have had to stop eating processed sugar because of arthritis inflammation;
2. I have a massive sweet tooth;
3. I have not been making cheese and had a surplus of raw milk from Brown Creek Creamery
So, I set out to find something delicious to make, and the answer was Maple Syrup Pudding. I like instant pudding, but I really, really love homemade, cooked on the stove pudding. This stuff did NOT disappoint. The milk is so rich, the syrup is so sweet - I need to master a gingersnap cookie, because that would have made the entire thing perfect.
In the interest of full disclosure, these are NOT my pictures because I ate the entire batch of pudding and there was nothing left to take pictures. I guess I will need to make another batch, darn it....
Maple Pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream (note - if you are are using yucky store bought milk, you need to use this. If you are using delicious whole raw milk, you can replace this with another cup of dairy goodness)
1 cup Maple Syrup
Pinch of salt
¼ cup cornstarch
2 large egg yolks
3 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla
Put one cup of milk, the cream, maple syrup and pinch of salt in a medium-sized pot. Heat until puffs of steam start to come off the liquid then turn off the heat (about 8 minutes).
In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining cup of milk adding the liquid slowly so the cornstarch doesn’t clump. Whisk in the egg yolks. Take about a cup of the hot milk mixture from the pot and slowly add it to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
With whisk at the ready, and the heat on medium-low, slowly pour the yolk mixture into the pot stirring constantly. Continue stirring when it is all combined making sure it is not scorching on the bottom of the pot. When the mixture starts to thicken after several minutes, turn off the heat, add the butter and vanilla and continue stirring until they are absorbed. Set aside to cool.