Vanilla Bean Pudding Cake

All  can say is it's a good thing this recipe turned out as delicious as it did. I could not find vanilla beans or vanilla paste around here. My husband and I drove 80 miles (yikers!!!) round trip to get them! I bought the last jar of 3 beans the store had, and they were kind enough to hold them for me until I got there. And then.....oh wait until you get to MY SPIN. Ugh! But the end result is fabulous! It kind of looks/sounds difficult, but it's not. We all know I don't do difficult. Because of the pudding type sauce, this is really moist. If you like vanilla, this is the dessert for you!

 



VANILLA BEAN PUDDING CAKE

Makes Either 9 Servings OR 8 Ramekins

PUDDING:

2 ½ tsp cornstarch
1 ½ cups whole milk, divided
½ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean, split and scrapped (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)
1/8 tsp salt

CAKE:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
3 TBSP light butter, melted
1 TBSP vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Either butter or use a butter spray to coat an 8” square baking dish or 8 8-oz ramekins.

For the pudding, place the cornstarch in a small saucepan and add 2 TBSP of the milk, stirring until there are no lumps. Add the remaining milk, the sugar, split vanilla bean and its seeds (or the vanilla bean paste) and salt. Heat until the mixture is just simmering, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. The pudding will thicken slightly, but not more than slightly.

Pour the pudding mixture in the prepared baking dish or ramekins. (See MY SPIN)

For the cake, in a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients until just moistened.

Pour the cake mixture over the pudding mixture.

Bake 25 – 30 minutes regardless of which you use (baking dish or ramekins) until the top is golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The sides will be a little bubbly from the pudding.

Cool 15 minutes and serve warm. This can be served 'as is' or with a nice fruit compote or that delicious Blueberry Sauce I shared last month.

MY SPIN: Put the baking dish or ramekins on a cookie sheet before you put the cake in the oven!!

And now I have to clean the oven! UGH!!!

Loving Life!

Peace.
Jan