Crockpot Tapioca Pudding

I've always liked tapioca pudding, but for some reason I haven't been able to make a tapioca pudding that I've been happy with.  I've tried the recipes on the packages (a couple times), and I tried making it in the crockpot one other time.  It just didn't turn out the way I thought it should. So, obviously, I haven't tried all that many times...

This time, I was going to make my husband his favorite chocolate pudding - there are only the two of us, and we don't go through a gallon of milk quite as quickly as we used to when the kids were living at home, so there was milk that needed to be used - but I really did not have time to stand over the stove and stir that pudding.   That's when I remembered the tapioca pudding my friend Brian made last month, and his turned out quite good, so I thought it was worth another try.  I definitely had time to throw the ingredients in the crockpot and stir it once in a while, in between all the other things I was trying to get done.

It turned out great!  This is the recipe - good flavor, good consistency, and so easy.

Crockpot Tapioca Pudding
adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt 
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 6 cups milk
• 3/4 cup small pearl tapioca

Directions:

1. In 5-6 quart crockpot, beat eggs.  Add sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix well.  Mix in milk and tapioca.
2. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours (or Low for 6 hours), stirring occasionally.  (Every 1/2 hour for the first 1-1/2 hours and then every 15 minutes for the last)

I'm not sure what recipe I used the last time; this is just one I found when I searched online for one.  I took the recipe and incorporated some of the suggestions from the reviews - adding a bit of salt and some vanilla.  And that was it.  Super simple.  Oh, and the recipe is basically 1-1/2 times the original because I needed to use the milk, and it was a better amount for the size of my crockpot.

For me, I think the key to a good tapioca pudding is stirring it enough that the tapioca doesn't clump up in big clumps, while not stirring it so much that the tapioca breaks down completely.  So, start out stirring every half hour, but as soon as you notice the tapioca starting to clump, make sure you stir it more often - and even get a bit aggressive with it to break those clumps up.  Not too much because you still want those fun little clear balls that make tapioca pudding special.  Did that make sense?  I used a silicone scraper which seemed to work really well.

Also, this got quite thick.  I may cook it a little less next time to see if I can get it to be just a bit creamier.  I don't know that will work, but I think one of the reviewers on the original recipe mentioned it.  Stirring a bit more often toward the end will help with keeping an eye on it and knowing when it's at the right consistency.

Chocolate Pudding

My husband loves chocolate pudding.  Before we got married and even for a while after we were married, he was happy with the instant kind - add some milk, shake it up, and you've got pudding in a few minutes.  In recent years he's decide that he must have the cookin' kind.  He especially likes the 'scum' that forms on top.  I usually buy the large boxes of Jell-O  chocolate pudding at Walmart for $1, but the last several times I've been there, the spot on the shelf has been empty, and last night they had removed the price tag and spread the small boxes into that spot as well.  Maybe they're not going to carry it any more?  I can't bring myself to buy the small box for 84¢ when I know I could get the large one for $1.

So today I decided to follow the pudding recipe in my cookbook.  It was fairly simple - sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and milk - cook and stir until thickened pretty much like the Jell-O.  But then it has you add egg yolks and cook and stir again, and then add butter and vanilla.  It got me to wondering why I really needed the egg yolks and that extra cooking, so I went looking on the Internet for chocolate pudding recipes without eggs and found this one:

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
 
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

Source: allrecipes

Jeffrey said the pudding I made tasted good, but I'm thinking that I will try this recipe tomorrow.  Then we can compare the two and see which one is better - and then decide if the extra work is really necessary.

And now I have to find a recipe for the egg whites...

Update:  We tried both recipes side by side and decided we liked the way this one tastes better.  So, it's easier and it's better.  This is now my go-to chocolate pudding recipe.  I have it written on a Post-it note inside my kitchen cabinet - the cabinet that contains the cocoa, cornstarch, salt and vanilla.  And no more egg whites to worry about.