This simple gluten free pudding is made with a base of caramel sauce, which is little more than cooked simple sugar with butter and cream. It’s not a mix of custard and pudding like my gluten free chocolate pudding, since there are no egg yolks here. Instead, it’s thickened only with my basic gluten free flour blend (xanthan gum-free) and that caramel sauce I keep talking about. It takes a bit longer to reduce and thicken, too, but still barely even 10 minutes from start to finish. And as the weather warms, once again we’re not gonna touch that oven of yours. [pinit]
Oh, right. And it’s completely corn free – since it’s not thickened with cornstarch, and there’s no corn syrup in this caramel. Remember how excited you were about those corn-free gluten free homemade marshmallows? We’ve had some good times together this week, haven’t we?
And don’t forget to make some extra caramel sauce, for lining the bottom of that pudding. How could you not?
The key is to make sure the simple syrup (mix of sugar and water) doesn’t burn, but turns, well, caramel in color (get it?).
There’s that basic gluten free flour blend. And when the pudding is ready, it will coat the back of a spoon fully. Like so.
Those little flecks are vanilla bean paste, but vanilla extract works great, too. It just deepens the caramel flavor a bit. What are you waiting for? Perfect gluten free pudding is just minutes away!
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
Directions
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, place the cream and flour blend, whisk to combine well and then set it aside.
In a medium-sized, heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cream of tartar and water until well-combined. Cook, undisturbed, over medium-high heat until the sugar begins to turn amber-colored around the edges of the pan (or reaches 240°F). Remove from the heat and immediately add the cream and flour blend mixture, plus the milk, whisking constantly. The mixture will bubble and the sugar mixture may seize, but don’t worry! The sugar will melt again. Stir it down, and return it to medium heat. Cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture is reduced by 1/4 and has thickened enough that the whisk leaves a visible trail in the pudding as you stir (about 8 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla. Stir until the butter is melted.
Pour the pudding into 8 small, heat-safe containers and allow to cool. Serve chilled or at room temperature. The pudding will thicken as it cools.
Serving Suggestion: Line the bottoms of the serving dishes with additional caramel sauce before pouring in the pudding. To make caramel, cook 1 cup of sugar and 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar with 1/4 cup of water until beginning to turn amber, as directed in this recipe. Remove from the heat, stir to prevent burning, and quickly add 1/3 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Stir until smooth. The caramel will thicken as it cools.
HELLO! I’m Nicole! I make gluten-free food enjoyable & affordable. If they can make it with gluten, we can make it without. That’s a promise!