Ingredients:
- 4 cups Whole Milk (Full Fat)
- ¾ cup Fine Yellow Cornmeal
- 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cubed
- ¾ cup Dark or Blackstrap Molasses
- ¼ cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves (Optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to a very low temperature: 300°F (150°C). Grease an 8x8 inch or 2-quart baking dish generously with butter.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornmeal with ¼ cup (60 ml) of the cold milk until lump-free (this is the slurry). Set aside.
- Pour the remaining 3 ¾ cups (890 ml) of milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Do not boil. Once tiny bubbles form around the edge, remove from heat and stir in the cubed butter until melted.
- Slowly stream the cornmeal slurry into the hot milk mixture while whisking vigorously to prevent lumps.
- Return the saucepan to medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently (scraping the bottom!), for 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture thickens into a heavy porridge consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the molasses, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves (if using) until fully combined.
- Whisk the single large egg lightly. Scoop about ½ cup of the hot pudding mixture into the egg bowl while whisking constantly. This tempering step prevents the egg from scrambling.
- Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the main Indian Pudding base and whisk quickly until smooth.
- Pour the complete pudding batter into the prepared baking dish and place it carefully in the centre rack of the preheated oven.
- Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. The pudding is done when the top crust has set and cracked slightly, the colour is deep brown, and the centre is still softly wobbly.
- Remove from the oven and allow the Indian Pudding to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream.