Summer is here! School is out, which means it’s time for baking, baking, and baking some more. To start us off, I thought I needed something refreshing, fruity, and relatively simple. Enter, these pudding cups.
This recipe is coming in a little late, but I promise there is a good reason. First off, I just got back from a week long school trip, which has left me a little behind on baking plans. Secondly, I have been working on an addition to the blog which has been taking up some time (this sounds very mysterious, but I promise more info is on its way!) Lastly, this recipe was a little finicky. The first time I tested it out, it went well and I was convinced I could get pictures taken and publish this post pretty quickly. But when I made it again, it was a big fail. This means I had to spend time troubleshooting which is very important, but has pushed back my schedule.
But it’s ok because we got there and these pudding cups are truly great. And I have all summer to catch up on my planning. And let me tell you, I have some pretty great stuff in the works that I am very excited to share.
Ok enough about all of that. Let’s talk pudding. I typically don’t like strawberry desserts, but these are really well balanced and completely naturally flavored. And making your own pudding is easier than you might think, and it tastes so much better! Today we’re making strawberry hibiscus pudding, flavored with fresh strawberry purée, and milk steeped with hibiscus tea bags. Then, to take these up a notch, we are layering that creamy pudding with spicy ginger snap crumbs and topped with honeyed whipped cream. Plus, it looks so cute in these little jars!
Describe these Pudding Cups to Me
Taste: These have a very summery flavor profile. The pudding is sweet, fruity, and buttery. The strawberry flavor comes from real strawberries, so it tastes very fresh and juicy. Plus, there is a nice floral note from the hibiscus. Next up we have 2 layers of ginger snap cookie crumbs. The warming, autumnal spices go shockingly well with the summery strawberry flavor. And to tie it all together we have a fluffy spiral of honey whipped cream which offers a lightness on top. These lil cups are perfectly balanced and so so so delicious!
Texture: You may know by now that I like my desserts to have lots of different flavors and textures. And these pudding cups are no exception! The pudding is buttery, creamy, and smooth. Next to that we have ripples of crunchy ginger snap cookies offering change in both texture and flavor. Lastly, I just had to dollop some fluffy whipped cream on top to balance everything out!
Ease: These are actually not as difficult as they may seem. Making pudding doesn’t take long, and it isn’t a particularly difficult process. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, leave time to steep your milk with some hibiscus tea, about 20 minutes. Secondly, making pudding can move pretty quickly which can result in error (more on how to avoid that bellow). Lastly, leave time to let the pudding chill. In order for it to set properly, it should chill for at least 2 hours. Aside from that, this recipe is pretty strait forward.
The Pudding
I feel like I have posted a lot of recipes that use custard or something custard-adjacent. And yes, I do have more coming. I guess custard sounds really fancy but it’s actually not that difficult. I have made lots of different custards, from creme brûlée to sauces to puddings. So the steps here are pretty familiar. We start off by steeping some whole milk with hibiscus tea. I like the floral flavor that this adds. Before we start mixing up the custard, we need to purée some fresh strawberries. We need about 1/2 cup of smooth strawberry purée to use later. Next, whisk some of that milk together with some cornstarch. Cornstarch thickens the custard, and we have to mix it with a little milk instead of just adding it directly to the custard to prevent curdling. This little cornstarch and milk mixture is called a “slurry”. Next up, heat up the rest of your milk with some sugar and salt. While that’s heating up, whisk up some egg yolks in a bowl. Then you can temper those egg yolks with some of that hot milk before cooking down the rest of the pudding. Once it gets nice and thick, add that strawberry purée from before and let the custard cook a little longer. Finish it off with a little bit of butter and vanilla. Then you can throw that in the fridge for a while to thicken up.
Why is the Pudding That Color?
First off let me say this: I like making my food pretty. And although these look pretty from afar, the pudding is actually a really ugly color. We are using a vanilla pudding base, but steeping their milk in hibiscus tea and adding strawberry purée. Hibiscus will turn your milk purple, which when added to bright yellow egg yolks creates greenish brown. Not too cute. Adding strawberry gives you pink, but it’s a sort of… dirty pink. I guess you could call it dusty rose if you’re feeling fancy. But regardless of the color, it tastes great and that’s all that really matters.
Then Other Stuff
To contrast the sweet, fruity, and creamy pudding we have two things. The first is two layers of crunchy and spiced ginger snap cookies. The slight bitterness of the ginger is so good with the strawberries. Typically I try to avoid using store bought baked goods in my cooking, because I guess it feels a little bit like cheating. But for these I went for boxed cookies. They tend to be more crunchy which is exactly what we want for these layers. In addition to gingery cookie crumbs, I top these cute little puddings off with a good dollop of honey whipped cream. The flavor of the honey ties everything together, and it just makes it look so pretty.
Homemade Pudding: Troubleshooting
Like all custards, there is plenty of room for error. But these tips can help to ensure your pudding comes out close to perfect.
Keep an eye on your milk: This is an issue I had with the first few iterations of this recipe. When I would steep my milk with the hibiscus tea bags, the milk would split. This is a result of the milk getting too hot for too long. This can easily be avoided if you check in on it every 5 minutes or so while it is steeping.
Stir your pudding constantly: When making any custard, this is extremely important to keep in mind. If you stop stirring your pudding as it is cooking, even if it’s only for a few seconds, you run the risk of scrambling the eggs and getting lumpy pudding. Stirring constantly and making sure not to let your stove get too hot will help to avoid a lumpy custard.
Purée your strawberries ahead of time: It is a good rule in general to have your ingredients at the ready and measured out when making custard. This can help you to avoid running around the kitchen searching for butter while you should be stirring your pudding (I speak from experience here). But making sure your strawberries are ready is especially important. We have to wash them, cut them, and then puree them in a food processor, so make sure you do this before you begin making the rest of the pudding.
Strawberries not smooth? This is a problem I encountered on my 3rd iteration. When I tried to puree my strawberries, they just would not smooth out. You are looking for a smooth, pourable consistency with no chunks of strawberry. This can be easily achieved with nice, juicy strawberries because they have enough liquid in them to mix on their own. But sometimes, strawberries just aren’t as juicy as we would like. If this is the case, just add a Tablespoon of water and it will help to break down the strawberries into a smooth consistency.
Why is my pudding lumpy? There are a few reasons this could be happening. The first one is that your custard got too hot and has either split or the eggs have been scrambled. If it has split, then removing it from the heat and stirring very quickly can help bring it back together. If the eggs have been scrambled, then there isn’t a lot you can do other than start over. If there are only small lumps in the custard you can try running it through a strainer to remove them. In most cases, lumps in custards are very noticeable and unappetizing. However, because we are layering this with crunchy cookies, so you can get away with few smaller lumps. You could also have lumps of strawberries in your custard. To avoid this, make sure your strawberry purée is very smooth.
Strawberry Hibiscus Layered Pudding Cups
Ingredients
Method
- In a medium sauce pan bring your milk just to a simmer. Once simmering, add your tea bags and stir to make sure they are submerged in the warm milk. Cover the milk and turn off the heat, but keep it on the warm burner. Let the milk steep with the tea bags for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. The milk will turn light purple. Once steeped, pour it into a bowl through a strainer to get rid of any loose tea leaves. Let cool for just 5 minutes.
- Whisk 3 Tablespoons of the strained hibiscus infused milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside. In a medium saucepan (you can use the same one from earlier) add your hibiscus milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine and bring to a simmer over medium heat whisking occasionally.
- While the milk heats, whisk your egg yolks together in a medium heat-proof bowl. Once the milk is simmering, slowly stream about ¼ cup of the warm milk into your egg yolks, whisking constantly. Add this mixture back to the rest of the milk mixture along with your cornstarch slurry from earlier and cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly. It should thicken quite a bit in this time. It will look off in color, slightly greenish brown. This is OK, it is only a result of the purple from the hibiscus combining with the yellow of the egg yolks. Next, add your strawberry puree and cook for another 5 or so minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in your butter and vanilla extract. Pour pudding into a medium sized bowl and press a piece of cling wrap onto the top of the pudding (this prevents a skin from forming). Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The pudding will thicken during this time.
- Add your ginger snap cookies to a large ziplock bag and seal tightly. Using a rolling pin crush the cookies inside the bag. You are looking for mostly broken up, but with some chunks still (look at the photo above for reference). You will need about 1 cup of crumbs. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whip the heavy cream, honey, vanilla extract, and salt with a whisk. You are looking for stiff peaks so the cream should be able to hold its shape. You can use a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to do this as well.
- In your cup or jar (I use glass 7 oz jars), sprinkle a layer of cookie crumbs, about one loaded Tablespoon. Add an even layer of pudding, roughly 2 Tablespoons and then another Tablespoon of crumbs, topped with another even layer of pudding. Spread however much cream you want on top and decorate with flowers, strawberries, and more cookie crumbs. I like to pipe my cream using tip Wilton 1M for a fun design, but you can do whatever you want here. Repeat with the rest of your cups.
- I recommend serving these right away once assembled as they do not keep in the fridge. You can store the pudding by itself for up to 4 days covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
Milk: Make sure you are using whole milk, not reduced fat or non-dairy alternatives. Cookies: You could make homemade cookies here but I find the hard, crunchy texture of store bought cookies works best.