Homemade Cooked Vanilla Pudding--No Eggs

Here's a simple old fashioned Cooked Vanilla Pudding that your grandmother or great grandmother may have made.  The pudding is easily made vegan by substituting plant based milk and vegan margarine for the milk and butter.

What a month this has been!  No one in Canada (or the world) will forget March 2020 and COVID-19.

I spent the first week of March at Peter's place trying to help in their house of sickness and doom.  Everyone was down with a cold and Peter sent for reinforcements so out I went only to be infected with some wicked germ that settled down in my bronchial tubes.  I never had a fever.  I never had a runny nose.  I didn't feel sick, except slightly for two days.  I did get one awful cough.  I did manage to cook a few meals and spend some lovely time with the children.

Week 2 I headed off to David's place to help celebrate Ben's 11th birthday.  The week was uneventful enough and we were able to have Ben's party before all the restrictions were put in place.  I coughed through the whole week and went through 4 or 5 bags of cough drops and a bottle of cough syrup. I was not sick.  Ben told me that if I died I'd still be coughing in my coffin. (I told him not to bury me if I was still coughing, lol.)

Week 3 I headed for home as the restrictions began to be put in place.  And here I am on the last day of March staying inside staying safe.  It's been one long pajama day with plenty of comfort food coming out of the kitchen.  It's a good thing there's a calendar on my laptop or I wouldn't know what day or month it is, lol.

And speaking of comfort food, here's a little recipe my mother used to make.  Years ago it was on the back of the cornstarch package and it was called Blancmange, which is just a thick vanilla pudding. Mom made it every once and a while and I loved it as a child. This is a very simple cooked cornstarch pudding that even the kids could make with adult supervision.   It isn't as rich as a custard pudding as it contains no eggs and you control how much sugar goes in the pudding.  If you want to make a vegan version use a plant based milk and vegan margarine to replace the milk and butter.

The pudding is quite plain but is delicious served with fresh, frozen or canned fruit.  For those of you who would like a chocolate pudding the recipe is here.

Stay home and stay safe.

Printable recipe at end of post.

Cooked Vanilla Pudding

• 2½ cups milk, divided
• ⅓ cup sugar, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons butter, optional

How to make it:
Heat 2 cups milk, sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat.  Be careful not to scorch the milk.  While milk is heating whisk the remaining ½ cup milk and cornstarch together until there are no lumps. 

While stirring constantly, pour the cornstarch mixture into the hot milk.  Stir or whisk until mixture comes to a boil.  Lower heat and continue boiling and occasionally stirring for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. 

Pour into serving dish or individual dessert dishes.  May be served warm or cold.  If eating cold cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Heat 2 cups milk, sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat. While milk is heating whisk the remaining ½ cup milk and cornstarch together until there are no lumps. While stirring constantly, pour the cornstarch mixture into the hot milk.  Stir or whisk until mixture comes to a boil.  Lower heat and continue boiling and occasionally stirring for 2 minutes.

Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.

 You can eat the pudding warm or cold.  

If eating cold cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Here are some ways you can serve the Vanilla Pudding.  I had a small piece of pie dough left over so I made a Vanilla Cream Pie with cooked apples.  I ate it plain and I ate it with fruit.  It was good every way I ate it.  

A nice light dessert.

To print click on arrow upper right side.⇩