Tuesday, October 6, 2009

TWD - Split Level Pudding






Look, let's get this out of the way - this picture is terrible, I know. It's October and it rained for a week. This picture was actually taken on one of the brightest days, if you can believe it! Many bloggers can compensate for poor natural lighting conditions, but tragically I am not one of those people. Such is life, eh?

Anyway, this week's TWD recipe was Split Level Pudding, chosen by Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla (his pictures look really pretty!). It's really quite simple - add some chocolate ganache to a dish, top it with a simple, tasty vanilla pudding. Voila, that's it! I added cinnamon to mine, but I think next time I'd leave it out. Chilled cinnamon is not so tasty, sadly. The ganache was killer, though.

Things I learned:

1. Dorie uses the food processor for all the mixing in this recipe. I made 1/3rd of her recipe, and the blades didn't even touch the ingredients so I just used my whisk. The whisk was so easy to use and the pudding turned out perfectly; I don't think I'd bother dirtying the processor even if I made a full batch.

2. I LOVED the cinnamon when the pudding was still hot, but not so much when it was thoroughly chilled. I agree with Garrett, this pudding is fantastic while hot.

3. If you want to serve it cold, make sure it is chilled for at LEAST 4 hours, as Dorie suggests. I couldn't wait that long, and I have to admit the first pudding I ate wasn't as good as the one that was good and cold.

Next week's TWD recipe is Spice Crumb Muffins, and I can't WAIT. Perfect fall dessert, eh?

5 comments:

  1. Your layers look really nice, warm cinnamon pudding sounds yummy! I hear you on the photos, it's getting dark so early now that it's hard to get decent photos. I didn't use a food processor either, and though the ones that did look a little smoother, I don't think I'd bother either.

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  2. Glad this worked for you. And that you liked it. Cinnamon. Yum!

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  3. I thought for a minute about adding cinnamon but the cinnamon chocolate taste combo is not my favorite. Your pudding looks perfect. I'll have to try it with the whisk because the food processor was super messy.

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  4. I agree, it was kind of pointless to have to pull out the food processor. And that ganache was spectacular! Those flecks of cinnamon look beautiful. :)

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  5. Aren't we glad we tried though. I mean how neat is it to have something so easy to put together in our arsenal of desserts. Magic!
    I think some used espresso for flavoring which I think would be tasty with the ganache. Must try. The vanilla beans were a hit here. I've made again for a new mom and she loved the vanilla bean and the surprise chocolate on the bottom. I didn't tell.... he he I did have good results w/FP both full and 1/2 recipe if that helps you out. Thanks for stopping by. I like your photo BTW. Looks like someone has enjoyed :-)
    AmyRuth

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