Alright, so I got this idea stuck in my head the other day – vanilla pudding, but made right in a can. Don’t ask me why, sometimes you just gotta try these things, right? Seemed kinda old-school, maybe something folks did way back when. Plus, honestly, I think I was just out of clean little bowls.
Getting Started
First thing, I rummaged around for the ingredients. Nothing fancy. Needed some milk, regular whole milk works best I find. Grabbed the sugar, some cornstarch to make it thick, and of course, vanilla extract. Almost forgot a pinch of salt, always need that. I decided against egg yolks this time, wanted to keep it super simple.
Then, the main event – the can. Found a clean, empty soup can. Washed it out real good, peeled off the label best I could. Made sure there were no sharp edges around the rim. Safety first, even with pudding.
The Cooking Bit
Okay, into the kitchen. I grabbed a medium saucepan. Dumped the sugar, cornstarch, and that pinch of salt right in there. Gave it a quick whisk just to mix the dry stuff up. You gotta do this first, otherwise, the cornstarch clumps up like crazy when you add the milk. Learned that the hard way ages ago.
Next, poured in the milk. Didn’t dump it all at once, just poured it in kinda slowly while whisking. Kept whisking until it looked smooth. Then I put the pan on the stove, medium heat.
Now comes the patient part. You gotta keep stirring. Like, constantly. Especially as it starts to heat up. Walk away for a minute and you’ll get burnt stuff on the bottom for sure. So I stood there, stirring and stirring. Watched it start to steam a little. Then, slowly, it started getting thicker. You can feel it change on the whisk. Let it bubble gently for like, a minute, still stirring like mad. That cooks out the starchy taste.
Took it off the heat. This is when you stir in the vanilla. Poured in a teaspoon or so. Stirred it through. Smelled pretty good, gotta say.
Into the Can!
Let the pudding cool down just a tiny bit – didn’t want it piping hot going into the can. Gave it a final stir. Then I carefully poured the warm pudding into my clean soup can. Filled it up maybe three-quarters full.
To stop that weird skin forming on top, I took a piece of plastic wrap and pressed it right down onto the surface of the pudding. Tucked it in around the edges inside the can.
Chilling Out
Then, the can went straight into the fridge. Had to wait for it to get properly cold and set up. This part always tests my patience. Wanted to just dig in with a spoon right then.
The Moment of Truth
After a few hours – felt like forever – I took the can out. Peeled off the plastic wrap. Looked like, well, pudding in a can. I ran a thin knife around the edge just to loosen it, then tipped it onto a plate. It kinda slid out with a satisfying little ‘thwump’. Kept its can shape mostly. Looked pretty neat actually!
Grabbed a spoon. Dug in. You know what? It tasted like proper homemade vanilla pudding. Creamy, sweet, nice vanilla flavour. Simple and good. Eating it off the plate felt a bit funny knowing it came out of a can.
Final Thoughts
So, vanilla pudding in a can. Was it revolutionary? Nah. Was it kinda fun and worked just fine? Yep. It’s just basic pudding, but the can thing adds a weird bit of novelty. Good way to portion it out too, I guess. And definitely handy if you find yourself short on dessert dishes. I’d probably do it again, maybe try chocolate next time. Simple stuff, you know?
