Homemade Vanilla Parfait

I decided to make some vanilla pudding from scratch. So I mixed up a bowl.

Ingredients

▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar

▢ 3 tablespoons cornstarch

▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt

▢ 2-¼ cups whole milk

▢ 2 large egg yolks

▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

▢ 1-½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk, and egg yolks. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally (every minute or two), until the mixture is bubbling all throughout (this took 7-8 minutes for mine).

Once bubbling, continue cooking for one to two additional minutes, whisking once or twice, but not too vigorously (this can break down the binding properties). At this point the pudding should be thickened but still pourable, it will thicken more as it cools.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract.

OPTIONAL, to remove lumps: Place a fine mesh strainer over a large heatproof bowl. Pour the mixture through the strainer and into the bowl. Skip this step if you don't notice any lumps in your pudding.

Transfer the pudding into a large bowl or into individual serving bowls. Cool until it is lukewarm, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for several hours or until chilled.

But I decided then to dress it up and make it more than just plain old vanilla pudding from scratch.

I crushed some walnuts and some semi sweet chocolate chips to add to the mix.

Believe it or not, my old antique hand cranked mixer can spin fast enough to whip up cream into a froth.

The bowl on the left is nothing but heavy cream whipped into a thickened topping with a tablespoon of cinnamon added. That’s why it appears slightly brown. I add no sugar to this. The bowl on the right is the pudding with crushed walnuts added.

I put this in the fridge for a couple hours to chill and thicken even more.

I simply layer in the pudding, alternating layers of chocolate chips, more pudding, more crushed walnuts, then whipped cream.

I don’t have fancy parfait glasses, but I have some beer glasses from my favorite brewery just before they closed. Stars and Stripes Brewery formerly in Freeport Maine.

I don’t add extra sugar to this dessert dish because I don’t want too much sweetness to overpower the flavor. You can add more sugars if you want.