Tuesday, October 6, 2009

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.

18 comments:

Cakelaw said...

Looks great Margot - glad it worked so well for you. It was a good job you whisked by hand, from what I can tell from my own experience and that of some others.

Anonymous said...

I love the flecks of vanilla in your pudding. if i could afford vanilla beans i'd put them in all my vanilla baked goodies!

looks great!!

Megan said...

I can see all the vanilla-y flecks in the pudding! How cool!

What cookies are those in the background? They look good.......

spike. said...

the pudding (and those cookies!) looks great

Leslie said...

Great idea to use a vanilla bean instead of extract. I think I wasn't "in to" this one enough to go to that effort, and it punished me for it! I'm glad you were able to make use of the extra ganache (I've read that a lot of TWDers freeze ganache...I must try that).

betty geek said...

I love the old fashion whisk! It works wonders!

And your pudding look awesome! Gimme a spoon!

Unknown said...

I cracked up as I read your post because I do the same thing with ganache (and far too many other things) - stick them in the fridge with the best of intentions and then wind up forgetting about them until I clean out the refrigerator. Glad you were able to use the ganache this time! Your pudding looks awesome - I love the vanilla bean specks.

Shandy said...

Your pudding looks perfect and you were the smart one for not using the food processor! Even used leftover ganache from last week; brilliant! I think your's looks as good as mine for having used the processor and scaring the beegeebees out of myself =)

Hindy said...

I'd take your vanilla bean pudding without the ganache any time. It looks so good.

TeaLady said...

Looks like it came out perfectly. Great job. Love the cups.

Susan said...

Your pudding looks great. I remade this recipe today with perfect results. Skipped the food processor the second time.

Anonymous said...

It looks great! I don't enjoy working with hot liquid in the food processor either - the whisk sounds like a good idea.

AmyRuth said...

Love the ganache on the bottom of that totally yummy vanilla pudding. I just never appreciated vanilla until I started using luscious vanilla beans. Wow, what a difference, huh? Your photo looks so pretty.
AmyRuth

Michele said...

Yum! Your pudding looks so amazing!!

Melissa said...

I was thinking a vanilla bean would be great in this pudding, and from the looks of yours it is! One thing I really liked about this recipe was how easy it was to put together, always a plus.

Melissa said...

Your pudding looks fantastic. I would have added the chocolate too, but just because I have to have chocolate with just about every dessert!

Sarah said...

I'm not at all a pudding fan, so I skipped this one, but yours looks great, and I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I'm glad that you liked the pudding with and without the ganache layer. The textures of mine didn't combine very well, but I loved the pudding. Oh, I always freeze ganache. It thaws and refreezes really well - never a drop to waste.