Cherry Maple-Vanilla Pudding Parfait
Ingredients
For the Pudding:
- 1 ½ cup + an additional ½ cup almond milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil optional
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Cherry Compote:
- 2 cups cherries, fresh or frozen that have thawed, pitted and chopped
- ½ cup apple juice
Additional Toppings:
- 3-4 tablespoon popped amaranth or granola
- chopped almonds
Instructions
For the Pudding:
- Whisk cornstarch and salt with ½ cup milk until dissolved.
- Heat 1/1/2 cup milk and maple syrup in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Do not boil.
- Lower temperature to medium low and stir in cornstarch mixture.
- Stirring continuously, heat pudding until thickened. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and coconut oil, if using.
- Transfer to bowl and allow to cool.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours of until thickened to a pudding consistency.
For the Cherry Compote:
- In a small sauce pan combine prepared cherries and apple juice.
- Heat over medium high heat until boiling and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
- Continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Cherries will stain so be sure to use a spoon you don't mind getting stained.
- With the back of the spoon lightly muddle the fruit as it cooks.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate.
Popped Amaranth:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. A drop of water should dance and quickly evaporated when pan is hot enough.
- Add no more than 1 tablespoon amaranth to the pan, cover with lid, and gently shimmy the pan around. The amaranth should begin to pop within 1-2 seconds and should be done within 10 seconds. Amaranth burns very easily so remove it from heat as soon as the popping has slowed down and most of the amaranth has popped. You may need to adjust the temperature if you find the amaranth is burning. Slightly higher than medium worked well for me.
- Pour popped amaranth into a bowl and continue the process until you reach the desired amount.
To Assemble the Parfait:
- Begin layering pudding, cherry compote, and additional toppings into small dish any way you like.
Notes
Be sure to taste the cherries you are using before beginning compote. If they are not very sweet you may want to add a little coconut sugar or other sweetener. Prep time does not include set time for pudding. You will likely have leftover pudding.