TWD: Split Level Pudding

This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie treat is Split Level Pudding: one layer chocolate and the other vanilla. Actually, the book gives a variety of options for the top layer, but I chose to go with vanilla. This recipe was well-timed, as the chocolate layer is ganache and I had plenty left over from last week’s tart. The little Tupperware container full of ganache is the type of remnant I never want to throw away; I’ll tell my boyfriend I will use it for something else and then two or three weeks later, it will end up in the trash bin when I do a refrigerator purge. So I was really excited to actually use the yummy leftover chocolate. The ganache had solidified and seemed to be taking its sweet time to soften up on the counter, so I ended up microwaving it for fifteen seconds to make it more of a pudding consistency.



I made a third of the recipe of the vanilla pudding layer, mainly since the ingredients were easier to divide that way than by quarter. The recipe calls for using the food processor several times. I recalled disliking moving hot liquid in and out of the food processor the last time I used it to make pudding, so I used a whisk and it worked just fine and my pudding was nice and thick (not to mention the bonus of having fewer dishes to deal with, those food processor parts add up). Instead of using vanilla extract, I used a quarter of a vanilla bean, which I added to the milk and sugar mixture while it was heating.



I licked the spoon and decided that the vanilla layer was excellent on its own and the chocolate would be a disruption to its perfection. I went ahead and layered the pudding, though, and I’m glad I did because it was even better with the bittersweet chocolate. I gave the pudding an 8 for Deliciousness and a 2 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 4. Many thanks to Garrett of The Flavor of Vanilla for selecting this great recipe. You can find the recipe on Garrett’s site and see what the rest of group thought by visiting the TWD site.