Peaches and Cream Pudding, Ah Sweet Summertime!
One perfect peach, a pint of cream, and a craving after comfort – a pudding is born.
If there’s one thing that really gets Mr. Hollywood’s goat around this time of year, it’s that chipper “summer’s almost over” refrain he hears from young parents sending kids back to school… in August. “It is not over,” comes his grumble-mumbled reply.
He’s right of course. At that point, there are still weeks of “… and the livin’ is easy…,” catfish, cotton, and all that sultry sumptuousness. Hey, do yourself a favor, and watch Ella Fitzgerald sing it – whooee – then come on back.
Glorious as it is, summer does end. (And I can’t complain – fall’s pretty daggone grand around our parts.) I’d thought I’d had the last of one of summer’s greatest pleasures – sweet, yellow peaches, the flesh just barely giving, juice running down your chin, best eaten over a sink – when I happened on a few more. The last bin from an orchard down the road. And man, they were lovely. We ate them out of hand, on cereal, diced on salads.
Until the very last peach. September 20, and still it sat, proud and lonely on the plate, neither of us wanting to be the one to put an end to the season.
It was I, for whom waste overrides sentimentality, who determined to eat the darn thing. Nothing lasts forever, right? But gosh, if I wasn’t getting nostalgic anyway. Enter, comfort food. And what greater comfort is there than pudding? Besides, I had a pint of cream also, like summer, nearing its expiration date. I figured that could figure in.
I perused the internet for a good recipe. To my surprise, what shows up most frequently is no pudding at all. As one cook admits, this peach “pudding” is more a cobbler than anything. It looks delicious, and I’m sure we’d all enjoy it. But cobbler is as cobbler does, and that ain’t no pudding-ness.
So, taking some liberties with a classic vanilla pudding, I set out to make my own peach pudding. Here’s what I did, so you can, too.
Peaches and Cream Pudding
Gather up all your ingredients before getting started, so that you don’t have to worry about rustling something up while the milk is boiling,…
- 1 perfect peach
- 1/4 C. sugar
- 2 T. cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- 1 C. heavy cream
- 1 C. milk (I used whole)
- 2 egg yolks, broken up mixed a bit
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1/4 t. ground cardamom
Peel and pit the peach. Then cut it into chunks for the blender. Blend to a puree. check out this photo! – calling all painters, make it modern art ~
In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Over medium heat, slowly add the cream and milk. Stir frequently until it thickens and boils. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir it around a little more to cool some.
(To prevent the yolks from cooking too quickly), while whisking the egg yolks, dribble in a quarter to a half cup or so of the hot milk. Then, while whisking the milk mixture, over low heat, slowly add the yolk mixture. Stir while it boils another minute or so.
Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla, cardamom, and peach puree. Pour it into cover-able cups or a serving bowl, cool (if you can wait), and cover.
Share with your truest friends.
ave atque vale, sweet summertime!