by Dottie Klein
Serves: 2 people. Preparation time: 1½ hours.
- 1 Large Egg
- ½ C. Granulated Sugar
- 1 T. Corn Starch
- 2 C. Whole Milk
- 2 T. Butter
- ¼ t. Salt
- 1½ t. Vanilla Extract or
- 2 Squares Unsweeteded Chocolate and
- ¼ C. More Granulated Sugar
In a saucepan combine the sugar, corn starch and salt. Stir in the milk and cook over medium heat stirring until thickened. Remove from heat. Scramble the egg and slowly fold it into the milk mixture. Cook and stir 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla (for Vanilla Pudding) and butter until it is melted. Pour the mix into a chilling bowl or individual pudding dishes. (Plastic wrap the bowls too keep the pudding top from hardening.) Chill for 1 hour or more.
For pie filling, pour into a pre-baked pie shell or tart shells at room temperature and serve.
For Chocolate Pudding, add an extra ¼ cup of sugar and use chopped chocolate squares in place of the vanilla. Stir until it's all melted and smooth.
"Pudding" in the UK refers to a rich, fairly homogeneous starch or dairy based dessert such as figgy or Christmas pudding, or a more savory dish such as Yorkshire, black, steak & kidney or suet pudding. In the US however, it refers to sweet custard-like blends (like this recipe), as well as, bread, tapioca or rice pudding. Pudd'nhead Wilson was the main character in a 1894 book by the same name, by Mark Twain. The proverb "The proof is in the pudding." dates back to at least the 17th century.