National Tapioca Pudding Day on July 15 encourages us to dig into this pudding dish enjoyed around the world! 

Well, I’m not the biggest fan of tapioca pudding myself, but I reckon many people are, so I compiled a few recipes that have different ways of making it. Feel free to add other ingredients or flavor extracts to create your own masterpiece!

Recipes wanted! Submitted recipes will be accepted at [email protected], or you can stop by the Albion office and drop a copy off up front. If you don’t have a recipe to submit right now, but there is a recipe you’re desperately seeking, feel free to email or drop off a note for a “Recipe Request.” I’m now requesting recipes for your favorite chili and fair food recipes!

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Easy Homemade Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients:

1C water

1/2C small pearl tapioca (not instant)

2-1/2C whole milk

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2C sugar

2, large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the water and tapioca pearls in a 1-1/2-qt. pot. Let stand for 30 minutes until the pearls are plump and have absorbed the water.

Turn on the heat to medium-high. Pour in the milk and salt; stir while bringing to a bare simmer.

Reduce heat to very low, add in the sugar and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until tapioca pearls have plumped and thickened, about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Slowly whisk in about 1/2C of the hot tapioca (this equalizes the temperature to avoid curdling). Pour the egg mixture into the pot with the rest; increase heat to medium and stir for several minutes until you get a thick pudding consistency that coats the back of a wooden spoon (do not let pudding boil).

Take off the heat and cool for 15 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Serve either warm or cold and enjoy!

***Recipe courtesy of Amy Flanagan from “Belly Full” blog.***

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Baked Tapioca Pudding with Cinnamon Sugar Brulee

Ingredients:

3C whole milk

1C heavy cream

1 cinnamon stick

1/3C small pearl tapioca

4, large egg yolks

1/3C sugar

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

3 TBSP Demerara sugar (you can substitute turbinado or light brown sugar)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, cream and cinnamon stick to a simmer. Whisk in the tapioca. Simmer until the pearls are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, pour in a 1/3 of the tapioca mixture, then whisk yolk mixture into saucepan. Simmer over medium-low, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a buttered 1-1/2-qt. dish. Sprinkle the top with Demerara sugar and cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, until the pudding is firm around the edges and jiggly in the center, about 30 minutes. Put under the broiler until top is bubbling and golden, 3-5 minutes (watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn). Eat warm or cold, remembering to remove cinnamon stick.

***Recipe courtesy of Melissa Clark, for the New York Times “Cooking” website.***

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Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients:

1/2C small pearl tapioca

4C whole milk

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1C sugar, divided

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1C chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate

Directions:

Pour 1-qt. cold water over the tapioca pearls in a large bowl and allow to soak for 12 hours. Drain the pearls in a fine mesh strainer.

Combine the milk, vanilla, 1/2C sugar and salt in a large saucepan and set aside.

In a heat-proof bowl, whisk together eggs and egg yolks until well combined. Slowly add the remaining 1/2C sugar, whisking constantly, until all of the sugar is incorporated. Whisk until the egg mixture is very light yellow in color, about 2 minutes, then set aside.

Place the saucepan of milk over low heat and bring to a simmer. Once it begins to bubble at the edges, remove from heat and drizzle a ladle-full into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat once again. Once it is mixed evenly into the egg, pour back into saucepan and add strained tapioca. Whisk constantly over low heat as it starts to thicken. The pearls will become mostly translucent with just a bit of cloudiness in the centers when the pudding is done.

Gently stir in the chopped chocolate until it is all melted and incorporated throughout. The pudding will be somewhat watery, but will thicken up as the tapioca absorbs more of the liquid as it cools. Transfer to a bowl or individual serving dishes, then press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding, chill for at least 2 hours. Alternately, you can serve it warm.

***Recipe courtesy of Rebecca, from “Foodie with Family” blog.***

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Coconut Milk Tapioca Pudding with Strawberries and Basil

Ingredients:

1, vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

2-3/4C coconut milk 

1/3C sugar

3 TBSP minute tapioca

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

4C strawberries, diced

1/4C sugar

2 TBSP basil, finely chopped

Directions:

Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a large saucepan, add scraped bean pod, too. In a large measuring cup (3C+), pour in one can coconut milk (about 1-3/4C) and top off with whole milk OR more coconut milk to get 2-3/4C. Scald milk over low heat, just until steaming. Remove from heat and set aside for 1 hour. Strain and pour liquid back into saucepan.

Combine sugar, tapioca and egg with coconut milk in the saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a full boil. remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Combine strawberries, remaining sugar and basil. Add half the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Stir the puree back into the diced strawberries. Divide half of the fruit into the bottoms of four glasses. Top each glass with tapioca pudding, then top with remaining fruit. Refrigerate for four hours before serving.

Note: You can use 1 can of coconut milk and top off with whole milk if you prefer.

***Recipe courtesy of Cathy Pollack, from “Noble Pig” blog.***