We argued over the properties of pudding for too long.
“It must not have egg, if it has egg then we’ve crossed the line into custard territory.”
“But what if it has just a hint of egg? What if the egg is for flavor and not consistency?”
“You’re being silly, egg cannot be only for flavor, it will always alter the consistency.”
“Well you’re being stubborn. One simple egg yolk would solve your problem here.”
“I don’t have a problem, just a challenge.”
“Oh? A challenge? Is that what you’re calling this pudding abortion?”
I walked to the bathroom and dumped the bowl of pale slime into the toilet, it seemed the best way to dispose of such a confectionary disaster.
“Another one down the drain, you’re wasting time and ingredients. Yield to the egg.”
He was right. I had been down this road before, making caramel pudding with just one orange yolk. It perfected the consistency, it melted with the cornstarch and thickened the pudding quickly without turning it to plastic. But I wanted something pure, a confection as close to its dictionary definition as possible.
Turns out hewing to such strict culinary rules will lead to ruin. My apologies to the vegan zombies out there, I cannot recommend making this pudding without an egg.
“Told you so.”
Business
3 bananas
1 tablespoon Sugar
2 small pucks Palm Sugar
¼ cup Cornstarch (or Tapioca Starch)
¼ teaspoon Salt
2 cans Coconut Milk (about 3 ½ cups)
1 Egg Yolk
2 tablespoons Bourbon
Party
-Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
- -Slice the bananas lengthwise, place them in an ovenproof skillet or roasting tray and sprinkle them with 1 tbs sugar. Cook the bananas for 10-15 minutes, until the sugar starts to caramelize and the fruit is browned.
- -Pour the coconut milk into a blender and add the bananas. Blend on high until smooth. Take a sip, it will be delicious.
- -Add the palm sugar to the bottom of a heavy saucepan over low heat. Let the sugar cook down into a nice golden caramel, slowly and without too much fussing about. Caramel will make itself if you let it.
- -When the sugar is nice a burbly-brown, whisk in the cornstarch and salt.
- -Keeping the heat low, pour in the coconut milk mixture while whisking. If the sugar seizes up, fret not. Keep whisking, it will slowly melt into the milk and lend its golden hue to the pudding.
- -Continue to whisk the pudding over low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the milk has thickened and you can see the trail of tines left by each flick of your whisk.
- -Add one egg yolk and whisk immediately to avoid chunky bits of scrambled egg floating around your pudding. When the pudding has thickened enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat.
- -Pour in the whiskey (with the heat off ) and whisk until the heaviest breath of alcohol has burned off and you’re left with the delirious scent of spirited pudding.
- -Pour the pudding into a dish (if you’re worried about lumps, pass it through a sieve on the way) and place plastic wrap along its surface to prevent any skin from forming. Put the dish in the fridge for at least 3 hours to chill.
- -Have a pudding party.