Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Budino

Budino- never heard the word before. Looked it up ( even though it said what it was  in Baked Explorations) and it is basically the Italian word for pudding or custard.

Surprisingly easy to make, the rich, velvety texture bears no resemblance whatsoever to store bought stuff. 

It really is a few moments in heaven as the rich, but not too sweet custard slides down your throat, and you get the slight hint of the bourbon /vanilla from the white pudding ( love seeing those specks of vanilla!) and the creamy softness of the milk chocolate.

You can eat it with or without the whipped cream- just looks pretty I think.

Grab the recipe here and enjoy!

Baked Sunday Mornings-Malted Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème

This was an "iffy" one for me. I 've made quite a variety of recipes from the "Baked" books and must say, I have loved them all. Not having a lot of experience with puddings or custards, and not being too sure about the malt flavor, I plunged into this recipe, determined to give it the old college try. Since this was a first timer, I decided not to play around with the recipe and do exactly what I was told. (not always an easy thing for me!)

Suffice to say , it worked out just perfectly- they did exactly what they were supposed to do. The real test for me was the tasting. No one in the family has really ever tasted the malt flavor- not even whoppers or malt teasers- they were just never one of our choices in candy. No special reason, just weren't.

I decided not to tell anyone about the malt and do a "wait and see".

I served them for dessert Friday evening to the family. I loved it.The crunch of the crushed Whoppers on top added to the creamy texture of the custard was heavenly. No one "didn't" like it- some felt it was overly sweet for them. I like sweet- even overly sweet. It was smooth, creamy and had a delicate , yet rich flavor. Not too much malt to take over but just that hint that gave the custard that extra zing. 

You can find the recipe here. Not difficult to make and a lovely dessert for guests.