Simple Vanilla Pudding

My mom was in town visiting me and, in anticipation, I had a carton of almond milk and a whole glass bottle of milk...both of which remained untouched throughout the duration of her visit.  I also noticed some ancient, lonely packets of gelatin kickin' it in the cupboard.  So as my mom was preparing to leave, I began prying her (and the internet) for tips on making pudding and mousse.  There are a lot of complicated, old school methods out there.  There are also a lot of recipes that cal for loads of heavy cream and the most disturbing of all additions... Cool Whip.  Have you ever looked at the ingredient label on that stuff?  (shudder)

So I followed my mom's advice and experimented.  What I came up with was a dense vanilla pudding topped with a little layer of vanilla custard-like mousse.  Almost like its own little mini layer of whipped cream on top.

I'm a chocolate girl, but my sweetie likes vanilla, so that's what we got!

INGREDIENTS:

2t gelatin (one packet)

1 1/2  c skim milk, very cold

1/3c egg whites

1T sugar (or Splenda baking mix)

4oz Neufchatel cheese or fat free cream cheese (1/2 a standard sized block)

1 1/2 T high quality vanilla extract, or a vanilla bean innards if you can manage it

Freshly ground nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

In a standup mixer, use a whisk to beat egg whites and sugar to soft peaks.

Add cream cheese & vanilla and beat with the mixer instead of the whisk until it is all well incorporated.  Just let this sit in the mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, add packet of gelatin to chilled milk in a medium/small saucepan, allow to bloom 1 minute.

Cook milk over MED heat about 1 minute stirring with a fork, until gelatin is dissolved.

Beat everything together in the mixer. 


Pour into cups and freshly grate a pinch of nutmeg on top of each cup.  Mine went into 2 larger serving cups (pictured) plus 2 smaller cups.  So I would say the recipe serves 5.

Refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight. 

SERVING NOTE:  It has a very mild, vanilla flavor that pairs well with boldness.  To that end, I topped it with rich Buckwheat honey (if you've only had Orange Blossom and Clover honey, you are seriously missing out!) and strawberries marinated overnight in Orange Balsamic Vinegar.  A perfect pairing!