Five ingredients, half a vanilla pod, no packet mix. We cook this Thermomix® vanilla pudding in 8 minutes at 90°C on reverse direction speed 3. The ratio: 500 g milk, 1 egg yolk, 40 g sugar, 30 g cornflour and the seeds from half a real vanilla pod. Split the pod, scrape out the seeds, add both to the mixing bowl, weigh everything in cold, start the 8 minutes. The result has nothing in common with a packet mix, because ready-made pudding uses vanillin, a synthetic flavour compound, and real vanilla seeds smell and taste completely different. You notice it on the very first spoonful.
Vanilla pudding is one of the recipes that shows what the Thermomix® is really capable of. It holds the temperature precisely at 90°C and stirs continuously on reverse direction while the starch sets. Those two things together determine whether the pudding turns out silky or lumpy. On the hob you would have to stir constantly and guess at the heat. Here both happen automatically.
Vanilla Pudding with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 5 ✓
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 500 g milk
- 40 g sugar
- 30 g cornflour
Instructions 0 / 4
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1
Separate the eggs.
Separate the eggs and place the egg yolks into the mixing bowl.
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2
Prepare the vanilla pod.
Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the seeds and add both the seeds and the pod to the mixing bowl.
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3
Cook all ingredients.
Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and cook for 8 min / 90°C / reverse direction / speed 3.
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4
Serve the pudding.
Pour the pudding into individual bowls and serve warm, or leave to cool.
Nutrition per serving
Less milk, less starch: why our pudding is lighter
Most Thermomix® recipes work with 1 litre of milk, 4 egg yolks and 60 g of starch, landing at around 490 kcal per serving. We use 500 ml milk, 1 egg yolk and only 30 g cornflour, coming in at 191 kcal per serving. The egg yolk makes the pudding silky, the 30 g of starch gives enough body, and the half real vanilla pod brings the flavour that every packet of vanillin sugar is missing.
Three factors decide the result. The temperature: cornflour sets reliably from about 85°C upwards, which is why we cook at 90°C and not 80°C. The reverse direction: it stirs gently without beating the egg yolk and prevents lumps because the mixture stays in constant motion. The whole pod: we add the scraped-out pod to the mixing bowl because there is still a lot of flavour in the shell. We fish it out again after cooking.
Vanillin or real vanilla: the actual difference
Ready-made pudding powder and vanillin sugar taste of a single flavour compound, synthetic vanillin. A real vanilla pod contains over 200 aroma compounds, including floral, woody and slightly smoky notes. That is why home-made pudding tastes fuller and rounder, even though it contains less sugar.
A good pod makes all the difference here. We use Bourbon vanilla pods because they are soft and oily and easy to scrape out. If you do not have a whole pod to hand, use 2 teaspoons of real vanilla extract, not vanillin extract. It is worth keeping an inexpensive pod in stock. Good Bourbon pods are available from Amazon, for example.
Pudding that will not set or turns lumpy: the most common problems
The pudding stays liquid
Almost always a temperature issue. The starch needs at least 85°C to set. If you cook at 80°C or cut the time short, you end up with a thin sauce rather than pudding. Our fix: run the full 8 minutes at 90°C. Straight from the mixing bowl the pudding is still warm and quite soft. In the fridge it firms up noticeably over 2 to 3 hours.
Lumps form
In the Thermomix® this rarely happens because reverse direction at speed 3 keeps stirring continuously. If lumps do appear, the starch was not evenly distributed in the cold milk. Our fix: weigh all ingredients in cold and start from there. Never add starch to a hot liquid. If there are still small lumps, 10 seconds at speed 4 after cooking sorts them out.
A skin forms on top
The skin forms when the surface dries out in the air. Our fix: press cling film directly onto the surface so it touches the pudding rather than stretching it across the bowl. That keeps air away from the mixture and no skin forms while it cools.
Chocolate pudding, vanilla sauce and a firm moulded pudding from the same basic recipe
Chocolate pudding: add 20 g cocoa to the milk and increase the sugar to 50 g because cocoa is bitter. Everything else stays the same.
Vanilla sauce instead of pudding: reduce the starch to 20 g. The mixture stays pourable, just like a pouring custard, and goes well with warm fruit cake.
Pudding to turn out: increase the starch to 40 g. Once cooled, the pudding can be turned out from a rinsed mould and holds its shape.
Without egg (vegan): leave out the egg yolk, increase the starch to 40 g and use plant-based milk. The pudding will be slightly less silky but sets cleanly.
What goes well with warm and cold vanilla pudding
We like to serve the pudding warm with stewed fruit or cold with fresh berries. The thinner version with 20 g starch works beautifully as a pouring sauce over Kaiserschmarrn made in the Thermomix®. If you prefer something fruity, pair it with cherry compote from the Thermomix® or a quick apple sauce from the Thermomix®. For a more substantial dessert, layer pudding, compote and biscuits in glasses.
If you are looking for more milk-based desserts from the mixing bowl, our rice pudding made in the Thermomix® is just as easy to prepare.
How long vanilla pudding keeps
In the fridge the pudding keeps for 3 to 4 days, best stored in individual bowls with cling film pressed directly onto the surface. We do not recommend freezing: the starch separates on thawing and the pudding becomes grainy and watery. Freshly made and kept cold it tastes best anyway. Give it a quick stir before serving if any liquid has settled on top.
Also goes well with: biscuits.
Also worth trying: Vanilla Schmarrn Thermomix®.
