We had strawberries in the refrigerator and wanted a cool strawberry pudding.
There are two ways to thicken a pudding: with cornstarch or eggs. We used a mixture of both.
Most custard-type puddings call for egg yolks but the strawberries made such a pretty pink mixture that we only used two egg yolks and the rest whites.
Fat gives a pudding a pleasing “mouth feel”. To compensate for the lost fat in the egg yolks that we didn’t use, we substituted cream for milk and added a little extra butter.
Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups strawberry puree strained to remove the seeds
2 whole eggs
3 large egg whites
3 cups cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
Note: Make the strawberry puree in a blender and then press the puree through a fine-screen strainer to remove the seeds.
Directions
- In a heavy saucepan, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Stir in the strawberry puree and the cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Cook for two minutes more and then remove from the heat.
- Whisk the eggs and egg whites in a small bowl. Temper the eggs by drizzling one cup of the hot liquid into the egg whites while stirring.
- Add the tempered egg mixture to the pan. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and then let simmer until the mixture reaches 160 to 165 degrees, about two additional minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
Pour the pudding into a bowl, cover with plastic—pushing the plastic down so that it is in contact with the pudding—and refrigerate to chill.
