Starch-Thickened Puddings

These are also called boiled puddings because they are boiled in order to cook the starch that thickens them.

1. Cornstarch pudding or blancmange.

   Cornstarch pudding consists of milk, sugar, and flavorings and is thickened with cornstarch (or, sometimes, another starch). If enough cornstarch is used, the hot mixture may be poured into molds, chilled, and unmolded for service.

2. Cream puddings.

   Cream puddings, as you learned in the previous section, are the same as pastry cream. Puddings are usually made with less starch, however, and may contain any of several flavoring ingredients, such as coconut or chocolate. Butterscotch pudding is given its flavor by using brown sugar instead of white sugar.

   If you look again at the recipe for Vanilla Pastry Cream, you will see the only difference between cornstarch puddings and cream puddings is that the latter contain eggs. In fact, cream puddings may be made by stirring hot cornstarch pudding into beaten eggs, then heating the entire mixture to just below the simmer. Care must be taken to avoid curdling the eggs if this method is used.