Strawberry Pudding

justcallmetoni's Note:

What an unusual use for this glorious summer fruit! A Danish recipe that I thoroughly enjoyed. Though the original recipe called for vanilla, I found that the lemon zest did more to perk up the flavor of the berries. Cooking time does not include cooling time.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 lbs strawberries
• 1 cup sugar (to taste)
• 1 quart water
• 1/3 cup cornstarch (if you like your pudding very stiff, use 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Directions:

1. Clean and rinse berries. If they are large cut in halves or quarters.
2. Bring water to a boil over medium heat. Add sugar and strawberries and simmer until berries are tender, about 8 minutes. You will still have lumps of berries. If you want a smooth consitency, break the fruit up by pushing the berries with the back of a spoon on the side of the pan.
3. Dissolve cornstach in a little water and add to fruit, stirring constantly. Add vanilla or zest if desired (one or the other not both).
4. Bring to rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring and allow pudding to boil a few minutes. The pudding should no longer be cloudy and regain its shine and gloss.
5. Transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator until thouroughly cool. Depending on the bowl size and shape, this could take several hours.
6. If you are planning to substitute part of the sugar (would not suggest all) with baking Splenda, add the splenda to the bowl just before cooling.
7. Optional serving ideas: Top with whipped cream, Cool Whip or vanilla yogurt. Chocolate shavings or a dusting of cocoa are also nice.

Reviews

[CoCaShe]

Although I wasn't sure what to expect, I ended up with something very similar to Polish Kisiel, which we normally make from a packaged powder but this tasted less processed and not as sweet. Pretty easy to make and will make for a nice, light dessert. I followed the recipe exactly, but I was wondering how much sugar can be substituted with Splenda or some other artifical sweetener so it doesn't affect the cooking process?

[Um Safia]

Reviewed for ZWT III. I really loved this strawberry dessert! Simple to make and very tasty - it's so versatile too as you can eat it by itself or mixed with many other things. I took a nice pic but it's from the phone and not the best qualityt so I won't post it here! Thanks Toni :)