Homemade Caramel Pudding

I know making homemade pudding is pretty old school with all the available, decent-quality commercial puddings on the market, but there truly is a tremendous taste difference that warrants rolling up one’s sleeves every once in a while.  Here’s a version with a deep caramel flavor you can enjoy on its own or you can use in various recipes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 4 Tbsps. (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ tsps. sea salt
• 1 ½ tsps. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Add the milk and cream to a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until small bubbles start to form on the surface, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside for later use.
2. Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the brown sugar.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture caramelizes and begins to have a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes.
3. Gradually pour the hot caramel mixture into the reserved cream mixture, whisking vigorously to fully combine. If the mixture is lumpy, pass it through a fine sieve.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add about a cup of the hot liquid to the eggs and whisk vigorously to prevent curdling.  Add the cornstarch and salt to the egg mixture and whisk to fully combine.
5. Add the egg/cornstarch mixture to the pan with the hot liquid and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and just begins to boil, about 3 minutes.  Take the pan off the heat and add the vanilla extract.
6. Ladle the pudding into decorative cups, cover with shrink wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Makes about six 4-ounce servings.