Maple pudding is indulgent comfort food that's simple, yet sophisticated, with pure maple flavor and a silky smooth texture. Only needing a few minutes of hands-on work, you can make this easy pudding recipe with no additional sweeteners needed. Rich, creamy, and sweet, this is a perfect pudding for sharing!
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Why this recipe works
- Simple ingredients yield deep maple flavor and a silky smooth texture
- Only takes about 15 minutes of hands-on work
- Can be made with milk, or use a milk substitute for a dairy-free pudding
Maple syrup pudding is one of those recipes that is both simple and comforting while being indulgent and sophisticated at the same time.
Along with chocolate, vanilla, and butterscotch pudding, this old fashioned maple pudding has a depth of flavor that will make your taste buds do a happy dance! The maple flavor dominates in a dairy custard with a silky smooth texture and mouthfeel.
If you're a maple lover looking for more recipes featuring maple syrup, check out these Maple Walnut Bourbon Blondies and Maple Walnut Scones. These maple syrup treats will have you saying, "Mmmm"!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It's rare to find anything with a strong maple flavour but this pudding is it! Smooth and sweet with a lovely maple flavour, 11/10!
- Ella
Recipe ingredients
To make this easy maple pudding recipe from scratch, you only need a few simple ingredients:
Ingredient Notes
Maple syrup: Maple syrup is a great flavor on its own, but when making recipes using maple, it's best to use a robust (dark) grade of syrup in order for the flavor to shine over the other ingredients. I look for the Grade A Dark Amber myself, but use what you like. For more about the different grades of maple syrup, see the FAQs below.
Milk and heavy cream: The richer the dairy, the richer the pudding. Whole milk and heavy cream works best, but you can use whatever milk and cream substitutes you prefer. Just know that any flavoring in the milk (like with coconut milk) will be noticeable.
Egg yolks: Provides richness, flavor, and structure.
Thickener: Cornstarch picks up the job of thickening from the yolks, taking it beyond a custard sauce to that of a sturdier pudding with body. While some pudding recipes might contain or exclusively use flour, cornstarch does the job without masking the taste of the maple flavor. Plus, using cornstarch makes this a gluten-free pudding recipe.
Butter: Adds a rich mouthfeel to the pudding recipe.
Flavorings: Vanilla extract and salt help to buoy and balance the sweetness and creaminess of the finished pudding.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make maple pudding
Step 1: Warm the milk mixture
In a 3-quart saucepan, whisk together the milk and maple syrup (photo 1). Heat on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles form and it starts to steam. This takes about 6 to 7 minutes.
Step 2: Prepare the yolk mixture
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the egg yolks and cornstarch. Add in the heavy cream and salt and whisk until the mixture is smooth (photo 2).
Step 3: Cook the pudding
Gently heat the egg mixture by slowly adding ½ cup of the warmed milk mixture to the egg mixture while continuously whisking. Add another ½ cup of the milk mixture and whisk again. This process is called tempering the eggs, and its purpose is to heat the eggs slowly, preventing them from curdling while the pudding cooks.
Pour the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture (photo 3).
Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pudding has thickened and is bubbling, about 8 to 10 minutes. The whisk will start leaving a trail when the pudding has thickened (photo 4).
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract (photo 5).
Step 4: Strain and portion the pudding
Strain the pudding through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. If the pudding boiled during cooking, straining it out will help remove any curdled bits of egg (photo 6).
For individual servings, pour about ½ cup (113 grams) of the warm pudding into eight 6-ounce ramekins (photo 7).
Refrigerate until the pudding is completely chilled, about 2 to 3 hours. If desired, place plastic wrap directly onto the pudding after it has cooled off - this will prevent a skin from forming.
To serve, top each pudding with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. Serve and enjoy!
Storage Instructions
Maple pudding will keep in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for 3 to 5 days.
Yield Notes
This maple pudding recipe makes about 4 cups of pudding, or about 6 to 8 individual servings.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
Maple syrup is graded by its intensity of color and flavor. Here is the current grading systems used by the USDA and Canada:
- Grade A Light Amber or Canada No. 1 Extra Light: Grade A golden color, delicate taste
- Grade A Medium Amber or Canada No. 1 Light: Grade A amber color, rich taste
- Grade A Dark Amber or Canada No. 1 Medium: Grade A dark color, robust taste (can be closer to the Medium Amber designation...it will depend on the brand)
- Grade B or Canada No. 2 Amber: Grade A dark color, robust taste
In addition, now there’s maple syrup that’s been aged in ex-bourbon barrels, like Maple Bourbon Whiskey from Smugglers’ Notch Distillery. First, bourbon is aged in oak barrels. Next, maple syrup is aged in those barrels. Finally, the previous bourbon is aged in the maple-infused ex-bourbon barrels.
Aging maple syrup gives it a slight spiciness from the bourbon and a touch of vanilla from the oak barrels themselves. The effect is subtle and interesting.
Basically, it's because maple syrup production is a labor intensive process. Pure maple syrup is made by boiling down the sap from the maple tree (a process similar to making boiled apple cider). Plus, the sugaring season, that is, the season that the sap is most abundant for boiling to make syrup, is only a few weeks long, in early spring.
That's a question of personal preference. Initially you should let the pudding chill uncovered so that you don't have condensation dripping back into the pudding. After that, the answer lies with whether or not you mind the pudding developing a skin (a thickened dry layer on top). Covering the pudding will keep it from drying out, and make it last longer.
How to separate eggs
There are many recipes that use either egg yolks only (like in many custard-based ice cream recipes), egg whites only (like granola or flourless cookies), or both, albeit separately (like in Magic Custard Cake). And for some recipes, like when making a meringue, it's imperative that you separate the eggs carefully - no yolk can be in with the egg whites because the fat will keep the whites from whipping up.
As someone who tries to use less dishes, I'm forever breaking at least one yolk into the white as I separate eggs, thus having to start all over again. Ugh.
Here's my tip for you: break the egg into a small bowl, remove the yolk into one bowl, and pour the whites into another bowl. You can use an egg separator to help. If an egg breaks in the first bowl, don’t use it - just get a new egg (and wash the bowl). Washing that bowl and losing one is so much better than having to use another whole batch of eggs!
I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More custard recipes to try
Recipe
Homemade Maple Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk, see Recipe Notes
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature, see Recipe Notes
- ½ cup heavy cream, see Recipe Notes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- whipped cream, lightly sweetened
Instructions
- In a 3-quart saucepan, whisk together the milk and maple syrup. Heat on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles form and it starts to steam. This takes about 6 to 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the egg yolks and cornstarch. Add in the heavy cream and salt and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Gently heat the yolk mixture by slowly adding ½ cup of the warmed milk mixture to the egg mixture while continuously whisking. Add another ½ cup of the milk mixture and whisk again. This process is called tempering the eggs, and its purpose is to heat the yolks slowly, preventing them from curdling while the pudding cooks.
- Pour the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pudding has thickened and is bubbling, about 8 to 10 minutes. The whisk will start leaving a trail when the pudding has thickened.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Strain the pudding through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. If the pudding boiled during cooking, straining it out will help remove any curdled bits of egg.
- For individual servings, pour about ½ cup (113 grams) of the warm pudding into 8 6-ounce ramekins.
- Refrigerate until the pudding is completely chilled, about 2 to 3 hours. If desired, place plastic wrap directly onto the pudding after it has cooled off - this will prevent a skin from forming.
- To serve, top each pudding with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. Serve and enjoy!
- Storage instructions: Maple pudding will keep in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for 3 to 5 days.
Ella says
It's rare to find anything with a strong maple flavour but this pudding is it! Smooth and sweet with a lovely maple flavour, 11/10!
Tammy Spencer says
I’m so glad you like it! Thanks for sharing 🙂