Making your own vanilla pudding at home is deeply satisfying, and less complicated than you might expect. This homemade vanilla pudding is topped with a bourbon whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings.
The recipe should be made in advance and allowed to set up in the refrigerator. The chilled pudding can be garnished right before serving.
Vanilla Pudding with Bourbon Whipped Cream & Dark Chocolate Shavings
Making your own vanilla pudding at home is deeply satisfying, and less complicated than you might expect. This homemade vanilla pudding is topped with a bourbon whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings. The recipe should be made in advance and allowed to set up in the refrigerator. The chilled pudding can be garnished right before serving.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp salted butter
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar
- 1 Tbsp bourbon of choice
- 2 Tbsp dark chocolate shavings, shaved from your favorite dark chocolate bar
Instructions
- Combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium-sized sauce pot.
- Whisk the ingredients together until they are completely blended.
- Slowly whisk in the milk.
- Turn on the heat to medium, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to low, and let the pudding cook at barely below a simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- *The pudding will thicken as it cooks.
- Remove the pudding from the heat, and add the vanilla extract and salted butter.
- Stir the pudding until the butter is completely blended into the mixture.
- Pour the pudding into individual serving dishes.
- Chill serving dishes in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
- When you are ready to serve, make the whipped cream by combining the heavy cream with the confectioner’s sugar and whipping until the heavy cream has reached the desired consistency.
- Fold in the bourbon.
- Prepare your dark chocolate shavings, and transfer to a bowl to keep in the fridge while you get ready to serve.
- When the pudding is set, the whipped cream is made, and you are ready to serve, top each prepared bowl of pudding with a large dollop of bourbon whipped cream and a generous sprinkling of dark chocolate shavings.
Notes
You can also make the whipped cream in advance, and allow it to sit in the fridge before serving. To maintain the tight foam structure of the whipped cream, try to avoid adding too much bourbon to the whipped cream base.
If you are short on time and want an excellent quality vanilla pudding without any of the fuss or stovetop cooking, try using powdered vanilla instant pudding mix you can find at most local supermarkets in the boxed cake aisle.
If you mix this vanilla instant pudding powdered mix with cold milk and allow it to sit in the fridge for a few hours, you have a nearly effortless vanilla pudding that sets up nicely and tastes pretty good.