Tapioca, anyone? 

In my experience, folks either love tapioca pudding or severely dislike it - something about the texture. But to me, that gooey, chewy pearl is a delight in my mouth. (I also love boba tea.) So it's something I make regularly from scratch (it's a far cry from the store-bought!), especially when I have extra milk to use up. Also, it's a dessert I've always loved that's also gluten free! Yippee! So here is the basic recipe for Fluffy Tapioca Pudding (from the Kraft Minute Tapioca Box), and then I will share with you my modifications. 

Fluffy Tapioca Cream 

3 Tbsp. MINUTE Tapioca 

 2 cups milk 

 1 egg, separated 

 6 Tbsp. sugar, divided 

 1 tsp. vanilla 
 

1. Combine tapioca, milk, egg yolk and 3 Tbsp. sugar in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 min. 

2. Meanwhile, beat egg white in small bowl with mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating constantly until soft peaks form. 

3. Bring to full boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly stir egg white mixture into hot tapioca in saucepan until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 min. Stir before serving.

My modification is that I almost ALWAYS make a double batch - because with 2 or 3 tapioca pudding lovers, you can polish off a double recipe in 2 days - but that's my family! Lol. The other thing I do, because I love the ultra fluffiness and goodness of egg whites, is double the egg whites (so if you're following me, double batch plus double egg whites is 4 whites for the win! But I'll spell it out for you in the ingredients below. :) The last modification is taking some of the sugar out, because most American sweets recipes are ultra-sweet. 9 tablespoons was just barely enough last time I tried it, so I would recommend 10 or 11, depending on your sugar-loving level. One more thing! As a shortcut, I put the milk in a large glass measuring cup in the microwave for about 7 minutes (less if you are doing a single recipe), and that GREATLY speeds up the process of getting the milk mixture to boil. 
 

Jen's Fluffy Tapioca Cream

 6 Tbsp. MINUTE Tapioca  

 4 cups milk  

 2 egg yolks and 4 egg whites, separated  

 9-12 Tbsp. sugar, divided  

 2 tsp. vanilla  
 

1. Combine tapioca, milk, egg yolk and 6 Tbsp. sugar in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 min.  (Speed method is to add only a tiny bit of milk to this mixture and put the rest in the microwave to warm.)

2. Meanwhile, beat egg white in mixing bowl with mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating constantly until hard (another mod! The original says soft peaks, but I've always loved hard peaks in this pudding) peaks form.  

3. Bring to full boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Fold egg white mixture into hot tapioca in saucepan until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 min (who can wait 20 minutes?). Stir before serving.
 

There you have it! If you want a nice light treat for those nights of gift wrapping by the fire, or just want to enjoy something different, try my fluffy tapioca cream! You'll be glad you made a double batch! 

(Why not pair with red wine?!)

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