Vanilla Pudding Parfaits
Vanilla Pudding Parfaits are made with coconut milk; topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. An easy, delicious weeknight dessert!
I love Vanilla Pudding Parfaits because they remind me of my childhood—a little pudding-love and nostalgia mixed together in a little cup. So good.
Vanilla Pudding Parfaits
Homemade pudding is an essential dessert for any season. There are so many reasons I love to make it for summer: it goes perfectly with fresh summer fruits like berries, bananas, (even tangy kiwis), you can add crunchy texture with store-bought cookies or wafer straws (and skip making a pie crust!).
It can be served warm or chilled, and it doesn’t require turning on the oven! The list goes on, but I think those are enough reasons to make this creamy, luscious Vanilla Pudding Parfait for your next summer get-together.
Or, for fall, if you love pumpkin, try these Pumpkin Gingersnap Crunch Parfaits!
Let’s get started with these ingredients for vanilla pudding parfaits:
- Heavy cream
- Full fat coconut milk
- Kosher salt
- Eggs
- Cornstarch
- Chocolate- filled wafer straws
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Butter
*These parfaits are best when made 3-4 hours ahead of time.
How to serve Vanilla Pudding Parfaits?
What’s another way to serve an elegant, easy dessert? For mini trifles or easy pudding parfaits (whatever you’d like to call them), just grab your favorite small glasses. You can also use highball glasses, Mason jars, mini trifle glasses, or whatever you have in your cupboard.
Add these toppings:
- Chocolate-filled wafer straws
- Whipped cream
- Berries (we love strawberries)
How do you make vanilla pudding?
- In a large pot, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, and salt over medium heat. Warm the milk until the surface begins to steam and it is very warm to the touch—do NOT scald the milk or bring to a simmer.
- As the milk warms, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium mixing bowl until smooth.
- Temper the yolks; take the milk off heat and then, using a ladle, add warmed milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly so the yolks don’t curdle or cook. Whisk in more of the milk to the yolks before adding the liquid back to the pot with the remaining cream.
- Stir together and bring heat to medium-low. Whisk constantly until thickened, about 6 minutes, or until the whisk leaves trails as you stir, the pudding clings to the walls of the pot, and the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the vanilla extract, and butter until combined.
- Transfer to a heatproof bowl (or divide into ramekins), and press plastic to the top to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate until chilled.
Tips and substitutions:
- In the recipe I add some coconut milk because I love the flavor. However, if you don’t want to use coconut milk, add 1 3/4 c whole milk to the pudding instead (or a fatty, creamy milk alternative, but nothing too watery).
- Halve the recipe to serve a smaller crowd, because this recipe feeds many mouths!
- The chill time varies depending on what dish you chill the pudding in. The smaller the dish, the less time it will take.
- Use any kind of berries on top.
- You can also add a sprinkle of shaved chocolate.
We love these parfaits, because they are the perfect dessert for a summer barbecue, as you can make-ahead. All you have to do when your guests arrive is pull them out of the fridge and enjoy!
Enjoy these pudding desserts:
Coffee Cinnamon Pudding with Sweet Cream
Get the Recipe:
Vanilla Pudding Parfaits
Ingredients
- 3 c heavy cream
- 14 oz can full fat coconut milk
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 8 egg yolks
- ⅓ c cornstarch
- Chocolate-filled wafer straws
- 1 c white sugar, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 Tbsp butter, room temperature
To serve:
- Chocolate-filled wafer straws
- Whipped cream
- Berries
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, and salt over medium heat. Warm the milk until the surface begins to steam and it is very warm to the touch—do NOT scald the milk or bring to a simmer.
- As the milk warms, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of sugar in a medium mixing bowl until smooth.
- Temper the yolks; take the milk off heat and then, using a ladle, add about 1/4 c of the warmed milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly so the yolks don’t curdle or cook. Whisk in about 2 cups of the milk to the yolks before adding the liquid back to the pot with the remaining cream.
- Stir together and bring heat to medium-low. Whisk constantly until thickened, about 6 minutes or until the whisk leaves trails as you stir, the pudding clings to the walls of the pot, and the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the vanilla extract, and butter until combined.
- Transfer to a heatproof bowl (or divide into ramekins) and press plastic to the top to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled.
- Serve with fresh berries, chocolate-filled wafer straws, and whipped cream.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
