Deb’s Caramel Pudding
I love when my kitchen is full of hot sugar and warm milk that turns into caramel pudding.
I love when my kitchen is full of new friends (see Jill, above) who aren’t shy about going in for a giant dollop of whipped cream on their caramel pudding.
My new friend Jill, from The Dish’s Dish is absolutely obsessed with caramel pudding. Browned and nutty cooked sugar meets whole milk and sea salt and whipped cream? Yes. Definitely obsession worthy.
I invited Jill over. I organized the simple ingredients in pretty bowls mostly so I could trick my new friend into thinking I’m super profesh… and…
we started cooking sugar. If you’ve got a new friend in the kitchen, might I suggest that you cook some sugar together? It’ll really set a happy tone for the rest of your friendship. Seriously. Bond over scalding hot sugar. It’s the best.
While the sugar cooked and browned, Jill and I patiently waited, and chatted about our mutual obsession with Mt Everest books and shows, laughed at how strange we are, and took pictures of the stove.
Once we whisked the cold milk into the hot sugar things got a little chunky… and tense. Our budding friendship was put to the test. Would the clumped up caramel dissolve? Would the milk not curdle? Oooh goodness. Jill whisked. I nervously took pictures of the electrical socket.
It worked. Everything worked. Friendship in tact. Pudding ready to be strained.
Individually wrapped caramel pudding ready to chill. We licked the spatula. We licked the bowl . It was totally the right thing to do.
Ooh! I forgot to mention Jill’s awesome boyfriend Taylor. He’s a dearheart. He filmed our caramel pudding making shenanigans. Thaaaat’s right! A little video called Bake Out with Jill and Joy…. coming soon.
But first… let’s just concentrate on the pudding…
and the whipped cream and sea salt that are about to top that pudding.
and my Mom who couldn’t resist a bowl.
and my new friend Jill who, come to find out, eats whipped cream and frozen M&Ms like… every night. Let’s just concentrate on those things while our little video is in the editing shop.
Just look at these two. Too beautiful to be true… but they are… true. It’s crazy.
Jill. Taylor. We’ve made caramel pudding. We have the video to prove it. We’re friends for life… or at last our bellies are. I’m totally coming over for whipped cream and frozen M&Ms. Trust that.
Stay tuned for Bake Out with Jill and Joy. Coming soon to… you.
Deb’s Caramel Pudding
serves 8 small servings or 4 caramel pudding lover servings
Sweet. Smooth. Will force you to forget about boring old chocolate or vanilla pudding for the rest of your days. Topped with coarse sea salt and whipped cream… you might think you’re Sherry Yard and your kitchen is Spago. You’re not Sherry Yard and your kitchen is not Spago… but for a moment… ooh yes… it will be.
4 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
coarse sea salt and whipped cream for topping
In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the milk with the cornstarch, vanilla and salt until smooth. Set aside. 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. Be sure not to stir the cooking sugar. If anything, feel free to swirl the pan around a bit. Be patient but watch the stove like a hawk as caramel changes color quickly. This is no time for multitasking. Just stand there and enjoy watching your caramel cook.
Remove from the heat. Very gradually whisk in the remaining 3 1/2 cups of milk. As you begin whisking it in, the caramel will get very dark and begin to seize with the cold milk. Not to worry… everything will work out.
Return the pot to the stove and whisk over moderate heat until the caramel has dissolved again. Once again, watch this closely as the milk will foam up quickly as it comes to a simmer. Simmer over moderately low heat until the mixture thickens just slightly and deepens in color, about 10 minutes.
Gradually whisk the cornstarch mixture into the caramel. Cook again over moderate heat, stirring, until the pudding thickens, about one minute. The pudding may look and feel pretty loose, but will thicken nicely when chilled in the fridge.
Strain the pudding fine strainer set over a large measuring cup; if you are, you can skip this and nothing terrible will happen. Scrape the pudding into eight 1/2-cup ramekins and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 2 hours.
To avoid a pudding skin press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of each pudding dish as it chills. Top with a generous sprinkle of coarse sea salt and a big ol’ dollop of whipped cream.
99 Comments Add A Comment
That looks like a whole lotta fun… I gotta find me a cooking buddy too!
it looks so delicious! I love it!
Perfect practice for that baking show you’re going to host. You know, the show where you win the hearts of millions with your charming personality and your beautiful baking conquests. I can’t wait. :)
Looks yummie!
Love the handwriting in the third picture!
Oh, I want to make it now. :) Pudding skin, hee hee, it makes me laugh.
Pudding skin, I -love- chocolate pudding skin and now I have to make this so I can have caramel pudding skin!
Whipped cream and frozen M&Ms sounds delicious!! So does this pudding…yum.
This pudding sounds delicious!
What a fun day for you two! Can’t wait to see the video!
Mmm… that caramel pudding looks fabulous! I wish there were more pictures of your gorgeous self :)
I can’t wait to see the video! Got to be perfect preparation for that cooking show you’ll be hosting soon…
I can’t get over how much you make me smile. ;)
Wei-Wei
i’m usually the girl behind the camera, so pictures of me are hard to come by!
that pudding looks sinfully delicious… so you already got jill cooking with you and her boyfriend filming… for the next video… what about you and simon baking together and someone else can record… Isn’t he the best cupcake decorator ever? and you are both adorable… can’t go wrong! :)
that might be adorable, Adriana…. if we still went out… but we don’t. thanks for having like… the best memory ever.
ouch… i’m so sorry :(
well, we’ll wait for mr. perfect to come along and i’m sure it’ll be the perfect video!
Is it wrong that I now can’t stop thinking about whipped cream and frozen M&M’s….??? Pudding looks great, I’m glad you’ve found a baking buddy!!!
it’s not wrong. i can’t stop thinking about whipped cream and frozen M&Ms either. breakfast!? yes. kinda awesome.
I need a sugar and pudding friend….FAST!
that looks delicious! And is that your new kitchen? It’s beautiful!
making caramel is so satisfying…every time i make it im fascinated by how heat can completely transform the sugar into something so delicious! this pudding looks fantastic!
wow that’s a lot of sugar, sugar (:
ahhh Joy! That caramel pudding looks divine. I havent had a chance to check your blog for abt a week and my gosh I missed it. your kitchen looks huge and so comfy and homey. lovely! x
Is that your handwriting? Its beautiful! Oh, and the pudding looks yummy as well! :D
Of all the adorable things about this post, my favorite is the recipe written in a graph notebook.
looks like a good time, and anything involving making caramel is a good time! is that your place? it’s very adult-like!
Very cute. I think the only thing I love more than caramel is butterscotch. So caramel pudding sounds absolutely lovely to me!
tender moments.
Too cute! Two cute! Get it? ;)
This looks heavenly and I love how you too have joined forces. I like the idea of cooking with someone to make something like this with waiting time, etc. I’m not the greatest at cooking with others sometimes because I can be a bit of a crazy person! xxSAS
Forgive me. I’m totally distracted by that stove. The tilework. The cupboards and cabinetry. And the beautiful light.
YOU ARE LIVING IN A GORGEOUS PLACE, JOY!
Oh. I guess you already knew that one. :) Nice pudding, too. I love caramel and butterscotch flavored stuff.
That looks like such a tasty and fun kitchen party!
mmmmmmmmmm..caramel pudding!
Looks like everybody had fun.
I cannot wait for the video! This looks like so much fun, I want a cooking buddy.
So this is your new kitchen, so lovely and full of light, I really think the kitchen is the most important room in the whole house, mine too is very sunny, very practical.
The pudding looks great but, may I just ask, why the salt on top of it? This is totally new to me, I had never heard of it, but maybe in my country we tend to be more comservative.
Loved your new friend!
XXX
adding just a few pinches of coarse sea salt works to balance the sweetness of the pudding. it’s one of those gourmet restaurant tricks.
Can’t wait for the bakeout! I love the photo rich post :D
Mmmmm! Caramel in pudding form?! Wow! Joy, how do you keep your figure? I can’t eat all this fantastic suff and damn I wish I could! LOL! I think that it’s funny that there is Jill just mixing and stirring along and then there is a shot of her from behind, where you can see the camera? It’s funny that she is wearing short! I guess I just didn’t think of that, or thought you all are wearing pants! But there she is bare legged! Cute!
:)
Shannon
http://www.cascobaysoap.blogspot.com
This pudding looks wonderful! Am I weirdo because I like the pudding skin? I may have to leave the plastic wrap off…. :)
Lovely post. Shows the real joy of preparing food.
Heat your milk or cream to just below boiling before adding the caramel. That minimizes the seizing, or eliminates it entirely. My first cooked sugar recipe was a family recipe for caramel icing that specified doing it that way, and I’ve used it successfully in other recipes.
that’s a great suggestion!
When I saw this post I thought, wow, Joy has a caramel pudding recipe too! I was going to comment about my experience with Deb’s SK caramel pudding recipe, but as I read the post I realized you too have tried Deb’s recipe. Funny. Anyway, this is an amazing recipe and it actually works great with nonfat milk as well. I have to agree that heating the milk before adding it to the sugar is a must. Great tip Pat!!!
i could have looked harder for a caramel pudding recipe… but this time around i just had to go with (and blog about) Deb’s recipe. She’s such a winner I knew it would be great!
help! i’m trying to make white chocolate mousse for the first time. i’ve tried so many recipes and they all are completely different and none of them have been successful. i don’t want to break down and buy the imitation instant kind, but i’ve spent way too much money on white chocolate that i haven’t even eaten!
I’m so glad you loved the pudding! I can’t wait to see the video.
Yummy!!!
Joy, I am so happy to see you posting more often. I love your wit and your food.
Oh, you two are hilarious! Can’t wait to see the video. Sprinkling the pudding with salt is pure genius!! :-)
I don’t think anything could make me forget hot chocolate pudding on ice cream. It’s my dad’s favorite treat. But this looks delicious!
Your friend sounds wonderful. This post was fun on many levels. It was nice to see a picture of your mum. :D
Can’t wait to see the video!
Omg. I am totally going to be making this tonight. So excited. I am even skipping the gym to do it! Screw sweaty spin class. Hello tasty yummy caramel pudding. I can always go next week… :D
that’s the spirit!
I LOVE when I have everything for a recipe in my kitchen. This is TOTALLY Thursday night dessert. Oh Yum.
That looks so easy. I’ll have to try it. YUMMY!
Suzanne
Hey Joy! I with I had the same luck you did when I tried to make this a few months ago. I guess I didn’t let my caramel get brown enough (fear that I would burn my sugar). Unfortunately my pudding looked nothing like Debs or yours, nor did it taste all that great. But I had success with your Milk Chocolate Pudding recipe…its one of my favorites! :)
I wish I had a friend to bake/cook with that was as excited about food as I am. Looks like you have lots of those!
I never had frozen M & M. BUT you just say PUDDING and I
will come running.
oh my, that looks heavenly!!! oh by the way can i use regular salt or kosher sea salt is a must??? tnx joy =)
I made this tonight… I don’t think I let the caramel get dark enough so I hope it’s still yummy! I bet it will be :)
PS. It was still yummy but I bet it would have been yummier if I had let the caramel get darker!
sometimes I call Mr Bake and Bloom puddin’ :) this looks sweeter though (sorry puddin’)
Will the consistancy of the pudding be thrown off if you use 2% milk or maybe fat free half & half instead of the whole milk? Just trying to figure out a way to eat more of it without feeling so guilty!
you can certainly use 2% or skim milk for this recipe. go for it!
are you kidding me!? HOW FANTASTIC!
and seriously- VIDEO- but of course, your in LA woop woop!
can. not. wait.
so pumped!