Cornstarch Pudding

This is the pudding your grandma made. Not from a box. From a saucepan, a whisk, and a little patience.

Milk, sugar, cornstarch, butter, and vanilla cook down into a silky, thick custard that coats the back of a spoon. Temper in an egg for richness and you’ve got a pudding that puts the instant stuff to shame. Eat it warm straight from the pot or chill it for a cool, set dessert.

The real beauty is the variations. One base recipe becomes four different puddings.

Variations

• Chocolate: Stir in 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate while the pudding thickens. Rich, dark, and intensely chocolatey.
• Banana: Fold chopped bananas into the finished pudding before chilling. Layer with vanilla wafers for a quick banana pudding.
• Butterscotch: Swap the white sugar for brown sugar and add an extra tablespoon of butter. Deep caramel flavor.

Kitchen Tips

• Temper the egg slowly. Stir a small spoonful of hot pudding into the beaten egg first, then add it back to the pot. Dumping the egg straight in will scramble it.
• Stir constantly over medium heat. Cornstarch pudding scorches quickly on the bottom if you walk away.
• Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface if you want to prevent a skin from forming while it chills.