How to Cook Tapioca Pudding

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 10 mins + 30 mins (inactive)

Cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients needed to make Tapioca Pudding:

• ½ cup small pearl tapioca
• ½ cup heavy cream, chilled
• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• Zest of a lemon, finely grated
• ¼ tsp salt

Cooking instructions for Tapioca Pudding:

• Place the tapioca pearls in a bowl and empty a cup of water in it; set aside to soak for half an hour and drain out using a colander.
• Empty the cups milk into a medium, heavy-based saucepan and whisk in the egg yolks until well combined.
• Add the sugar, followed by a dash of salt and stir them into the mixture until they dissolves completely.
• Split the vanilla bean longitudinally and scrape out its seeds.
• Stir it into the milk mixture and drop the vanilla pod halves into it as well.
• Tip the bowl of soaked tapioca pearls into the above mixture and cook it over moderate heat, while stirring gently but continuously to avoid the blend from sticking to the base of the pan.
• Bring it to a simmer and continue to cook for a couple of minutes or until the mixture turns thicker considerably.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer the pudding further for another half an hour, while stirring gently all the time, to avoid the tapioca pearls from breaking down.
• Once the tapioca pearls turn nearly transparent, turn off the heat and fold in the lemon zest until they are distributed evenly throughout the pudding; discard the vanilla pod.
• Place a lid on top of the saucepan and let aside to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, whisk the cream, using an electric mixer, until it forms soft, moist peaks.
• Uncover and give a good stir to the pudding before folding the whipped cream into it until they blend together to form a uniform mixture.
• Spoon it into serving bowls and wrap the surface with a cling film.
• Leave in the fridge until set and serve chilled.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons