Mango Pudding

My parents came back from their trip to Hong Kong with cute little milk bottles. It looks like my aunts took them to Milk Top for desserts quite a few time. They tried mango and red bean puddings and I was envious! In turn, I found Sweet Note and tried their milk bottle desserts. They're delicious little treats and I was delighted to learn that we could keep the milk bottles! Well, I guess I have to try my hand at making some pudding then! It's one of my favourite treats and I always try to order one at dim sum.

I made the recipe below three times. The first time, I foolishly let the gelatin and water mixture cool as I was dicing mangoes and basically the solidified gelatin didn't incorporate with the rest. So they didn't set and Howard has been drinking them like shots. Ew.

The second time I found success and brought them over to my parent's house for Christmas dinner. However, the gelatin left surprise chunks in the pudding. I still needed to master a smoother gelatin mix. Third times the charm!

Mango Pudding
(Makes enough for 6 milk bottles)

1 fresh mango
1 package of gelatin (about 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons)
3/4 cup of water
2/3 cup of mango pulp (or purée)
1/2 cup of evaporated milk
10 ice cubes
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar

1. Cut the mango in half and dice into small cubes. Set aside the other half to eat! Or if you'd like, you can save them to decorate the pudding by placing them on top after it has set.
2. Put the hot water in a small pot and boil, reduce heat to simmer. Stir in the gelatin until dissolved. This step is important!
3. Turn off the stove and remove the pot from the heat. Pour in the mango pulp, evaporated milk, and ice cubes. Stir until the ice has melted.
4. Add in the sugar and the diced mangoes, mix until sugar is dissolved.
5. Pour into the milk bottles or ramekins or molds. Place in the fridge to let it set overnight or for about 2 hours. 
6. Decorate with the other half of the diced mangoes. Or pour a thin layer of mango pulp on top for decoration.

Finally, my best batch yet. Smooth mango pudding with dices of mango throughout.

And these milk bottles, so cute!!!

I'd love to know how to make red bean pudding or green tea pudding. I think flan would also work well in these little bottles. Something to try this week!

Vanilla Plum Swirl Pudding Pops

Ice cold pops are always a good sign on a hot summer day. Tasty and refreshing, these are easy to make, even for a newcomer like me. I went out a bought some ice pop molds at my local grocery store and proceeded to create wonderful swirls on the stove top.

Vanilla Plum Swirl Pudding Pops
Shopping List: granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla bean, milk, brandy, eggs, salt, plums, and lemon juice.

To make the pudding, give the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla bean a quick whisk in a saucepan. Pour in the milk (omit the brandy if you're going alcohol-free) and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring with the whisk until the mixture starts to steam.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and salt together. Slowly pour in half of the hot milk mixture and whisk constantly. You don't want to cook the eggs too quickly, if you do, you'll end up with scrambled eggs! Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, whisking over medium heat until it starts to get bubbly and thick. Strain through a sieve into a container, place plastic wrap on the surface, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

To make the plum swirl, bring the plums, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer and stir until the plus are broken down. It should resemble the consistency of jam. Strain through a sieve into a container, stir in lemon juice, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

If any of the pudding or plum instructions are holding you back, don't worry. Watch the step-by-step video here.

Here comes the fun part! Spoon the pudding into the tip of the molds, then alternate with the plum mixture. Make sure you start and end with the pudding.

Freeze until firm for about five hours. Take them out at the hottest time of day (or any time of day) and enjoy!

We loved how the vanilla pudding was a smooth and delicious base. We'd try this again with plum or another summer fruit, it would pair well with almost anything!

Share your Vanilla Plum Swirl Pudding Pops pics with @canadianliving on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with the hashtag #CLIMadeIt.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Canadian Living and I received compensation for it. There was no requirement to produce a positive review of this recipe. All opinions are our own.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

My mom made coconut tapioca pudding the other day, so I asked her to teach me how to. It's such a refreshing dessert during the summer! And you care pair almost any fruit with the pudding, in fact, my parents make a pumpkin purée to go with their's.

You can make tapioca from scratch, but we simply went and bought ours. Tapioca is a starch extracted from cassava. When cassava is dried and the starch is extracted, it becomes tapioca. If you've had bubble tea, the bubbles or boba is tapioca.

Follow closely now, here are the few quick and easy steps for tapioca pudding!

Boil about 4 cups of water. When it starts bubbling, pour in 1 cup of tapioca pearls. Have it boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally as the tapioca will start to thicken and may stick to the bottom of the pot.

Then, turn the heat off and take the pot off the burner. Let it sit for 10 more minutes undisturbed.

Using a sieve, drain the hot water.

Run cold water through and then let the tapioca sit in iced water for another 10 minutes. Transfer the tapioca to another container and refrigerate for about an hour.

In between all the 10 minute intervals, you can make the coconut milk.

Boil 200 mL of milk, be careful and watch it so it doesn't boil over. Take it off the burner when it boils and add 80 grams of sugar. Stir until combined. Add a pinch of salt and 12 ounces of coconut cream. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour minimum.

To assemble, scoop out the chilled tapioca into your bowl. Pour enough coconut milk to cover the tapioca. Dice up your favourite fruit and mix it into the bowl. Enjoy!