12 July 2012

Tapioca Pudding - Not as Boring as It Sounds!

Tapioca Pudding - Not as Boring as It Sounds! / www.delightfulrepast.com

Tapioca pudding is one of those things you can serve to guests and everyone will say "Ooh, I love tapioca, but I haven't had it in years!" Or "since I was a kid!" I know I get on a kick and make it several times and then forget about it for years until something reminds me. 

What reminded me this time was a chat with my dear cousin Denise. We were talking about our favorite foods our grandmother made when we were kids. 

Denise recalled Ma (that's what we all called her) having, shall we say, mixed results with her tapioca. One time it would be heavenly, and the next time rather gluey (Denise liked it either way). I thought it odd that Ma would have had difficulty with something so simple, but then I figured it out.

Reading. Ma and her daughters (including Denise's mother and my mother) were addicted to reading, just as we are. Growing up in a very large family in the Lake District (northwest England), her favorite task was making all the beds. Not because she especially liked making beds, but that chore gave her the opportunity to be alone upstairs and get a lot of reading done. Can't do much harm there, but ... stuff happens when you're cooking and you can't put your book down. 

So I imagine on those gluey pudding days, the plot was thickening and so was the tapioca.



Tapioca Pudding - Not as Boring as It Sounds! / www.delightfulrepast.com

If you like it, please Pin it and share it!

Tapioca Pudding

(Makes 3 cups, 4 or 5 servings)

1/3 cup (2 ounces/57 grams) small pearl tapioca
3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces/177 ml) very warm water
2 1/4 cups (18 fluid ounces/532 ml) organic milk (I use 2%)
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces/50 grams) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large organic eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Garnish: Whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg

1 In heavy 2-quart saucepan, soak tapioca in warm water for 30 minutes. Stir in milk, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium* heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until thickened, about 15 minutes.

* And I do mean medium. No matter how heavy your saucepan, if you try to hurry it along by cranking up the heat you'll scorch it. Then as you stir, the scorched patch will come off in shreds and be all mixed in with the pudding. Not good. (You may ask, Hmm ... wonder how she knows that? I'll tell you--the same way I know that stuff happens when you're cooking and you can't put your book down!)

2 In small bowl (I use a 2-cup glass measure), lightly beat the eggs. Gradually stir about a cup of the hot mixture into the lightly beaten eggs, then pour back into the saucepan. The eggs will thin out the pudding. Cook, stirring, over low heat (do not boil) until the pudding thickens, several minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in vanilla extract.

3 Pour into a 4-cup bowl; cover with lid. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, give it a stir, then place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days. 

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites. This helps cover some of the costs of running the blog. Thank you for your support. 

Jean

If you liked this post, please Pin it and share it!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa. This looks fabulous.
I do believe my mouth is watering just by looking at it.

Eileen H said...

I haven't had tapioca or semolina pudding in years, reminds me of school dinners. Husband hates it and says it reminds him of frogspawn.
I would imagine it is more of a winter pudding but your recipe sounds lovely served with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, love2dine! Hope you'll try it soon.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Eileen, don't listen to your husband (frogspawn, indeed!), have some tapioca! Actually, it's a miracle my husband doesn't say the same thing--he is notorious for texture issues, but for some reason he loves tapioca.

Angie's Recipes said...

It isn't boring at all. On the contrary, it looks so very tempting with beautiful colours and wholesome ingredients.
Have a wonderful weekend, Jean.

Angie

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Angie! Wish I had some today, but I'm out of milk.

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan said...

TAPIOCA! Obviously a wonderful word misapplied. It should be a song, or a salutation shouted before a round of drinks, or – yes, yes – a dance! Tap-tap-tapioca! A tap dance. A food? Not so much. Glue, you say, maybe. Love your detective work, however. Your grandmother has been outed. ‘Scuse me now while I go invent a dance that is a cross between tap and polka. I think I'll call it… (oh, I can't say it).

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Yep, I hated to out her, but ... glue is glue. And you're right, it IS a great name for a dance or a festive salutation!

Richard Sheppard said...

I LOVE tapioca pudding! It's not boring to me at all. Yes, it's been a couple of years since I made it but that's only because I can't stop eating it once I make it. I like it still slightly warm and ohhh, so good!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

And you don't HAVE to stop eating it - MY recipe has the minimal amount of sugar, and that makes it health food!

Charles said...

Love semolina, but I haven't had tapioca in AGES! I think the last time I had it was in some bizarre drink in China. Hrm, I don't even know what it's called in French. I'm gonna look it up so I can revisit my childhood :D

Love the look of the little blueberries on top :)

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Charles! Yes, it's time to have some tapioca (I don't know the French word for it either).

Lisa @ The Cooking Bride said...

My husband, parents, and I were just talking about tapioca last weekend. My husband has NEVER had it! I'll have to make this for him so he can give it a try.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

How funny! I was just talking to my sister-in-law. She saw the post and said, "Looks delicious. Wonder if I'd like it. I've never had tapioca." (And she's a lot older than your husband!)

Mary said...

LOL! "the plot was thickening and so was the tapioca" I can relate. Cookies tend to get a whole lot darker when the plot thickens around here!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Mary, thank you! I'm so glad somebody noticed that line! Isn't it wonderful to be one of those people who can be so enthralled with books? I've always felt bad for people who don't love reading.

Melanie said...

Tapioca was one of those desserts that everyone in our family loved; my mom would have to double the batch. Yours looks super delicious! (And I like the idea of the blueberry accompaniment! We just picked a gazillion blueberries this past weekend.)

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Melanie! I envy people who can pick their own berries--blue, black and raspberries are so expensive most of the time.