St. Patrick’s Vanilla Pudding with Meringue Clouds
My very talented friend Hani brought you a special treat just in time for Spring. This dessert is so light and fluffy I just want to dive in head first! If you don’t already read her blog Haniela’s then be sure to head over. You will be drawn in to a world with perfectly decorated cookies, truly decadent sweets, and savory dishes that will knock your socks off. Please welcome Hani.
Hi, I’m Hani and I’m so super excited to be guest posting on In Katrina’s Kitchen. Katrina is an amazing gal, and her sweets make me drool every time I visit her website.
For those that don’t know me and my blog, I write a blog called Haniela’s. I like to decorate cookies and make mini desserts, I enjoy cooking and making everything from scratch, I can tomatoes and make pepper paste, and in Summer time I enjoy our beautiful garden and all she brings to the table. I think apple is the best fruit to bake and cook with. It is a staple in the my kitchen just as is my weekly dose of good home made pudding.
Today I’m going to show you how I make one of my favorite desserts from my childhood. I grew up in Slovakia and this pudding styled dessert was part of our snack at a local kindergarten. It was called Bird’s Milk. I was only few years old but this dessert has made such impression on me I remember details like green glass dishes it was served in and a large stainless steel cart it was wheeled into the room. This dessert is for kids as much as it is for adults and today I’m putting a St. Patrick’s twist on my old time favorite.
St. Patrick's Vanilla Pudding with Meringue Clouds Recipe
Ingredients
- For the Meringue Clouds:
- 2 cups milk
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tbl sugar
- For the Vanilla Pudding:
- 3 cups milk, use left over milk from the previous step-Cooked Meringue Clouds plus add additional milk to get 3 cups
- 4-5 tbl sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup milk
- 5 tbl corn starch or potato starch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbl butter
- food coloring
Instructions
- For the Meringue Clouds:
- In a clean bowl whip egg whites until medium peaks are formed, add sugar and beat until stiff and shiny.
- Heat 2 cup of milk in a small sauce pan.
- Once milk is hot drop several tablespoon of meringue into the hot milk, cook for 30 seconds, gently stir with a wooden spoon and cook for another 30 seconds and up to 2 minutes.
- You can taste the cooked meringue, once cooked it becomes firmer than uncooked.
- Remove cooked meringue clouds from the milk and drop them into a colander colander that is sitting on another bowl to catch the excess milk. Continue with remaining meringue.
- If you notice hot milk is about to seize while you are dropping meringue in, add a little bit of cold milk to control it.
- Set the cooked meringue clouds aside.
- For the Vanilla Pudding:
- In a small dish whisk together cornstarch, egg yolks and 1/3 cup milk. Add food coloring if desired.
- In a medium size sauce pan combine 3cup milk and 4-5 tbl sugar, or to taste.
- Add cornstarch egg yolk mixture and stir continuously, mixture will thicken, cook pudding, once you see bubbles, cook for additional minute or two, stirring.
- Remove pudding from the heat, and stir in 1tbl butter and 1tsp vanilla extract.
- Strain pudding through a fine mesh strainer.
- Fold about 3/4 of cooked meringue clouds into the pudding.
Pudding is one of my favorites and addition of cooked meringue clouds really brings it to a whole new level. Remember, vanilla flavor is not set in the stone, this dessert can be made with banana, chocolate and even a raspberry pudding, possibilities are endless. For more delicious recipes visit my blog Haniela’s. I hope to see you there soon.
