As a little girl, going to the Stonewood Shopping Center in Downey, CA, was always exciting to me. I’ve got no idea what my mother was shopping for, probably shoes. My younger sister always stopped at the toy shop to gaze fondly upon the latest Madame Alexander doll acquisitions and wonder whether any of them would be added to her collection. I, on the other hand, paced back and forth at the bakery, amazed at the beautiful wedding and birthday cakes.
It was no surprise that I took some cake decorating classes so that I could create beautiful birthday cakes for my children, and wedding cakes to bring in some extra income.
Then life happens. Those dang birthday cakes always took so long to make. I was perfectly elated as each child grew older and opted for an easier, and much tastier, cake for their birthday celebrations.
The recipe for the cake of choice in this family came from one of those extended family cookbooks that we got from the family reunion one year. Those cookbooks always have the best recipes.
Anyway, that sour cream chocolate Bundt cake is the go-to here now. Unfortunately, one of the ingredients is a package of instant chocolate pudding. I could make everything else using what we have on hand here, but the instant chocolate pudding package presented a problem. I didn’t want to buy a few years’ worth of packages. They take up a lot of space and what if they went bad? They’re full of artificial ingredients, and bugs like to live in cardboard packaging.
I puzzled over this problem for years. I decided that it must somehow be possible to make my own instant pudding mixes. I was right! And all I had to do was to buy a bag of Instant Clear-Jel.
The rest was easy.
For all of these recipes, measure the granulated sugar first and then powder it in your blender or food processor. (My cheapie food processor wasn't up to the job, so I used my Vitamix.) As mentioned in the article on aquafaba cool whip, regular commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch added to it to prevent caking, and in some recipes it imparts an off taste.
Family reviews: Aaron, Becky, and I had both the vanilla and chocolate versions for dessert the other night. We all agreed that both the vanilla and the chocolate versions taste much better than the store-bought options. Way better.
Now, you might be wondering about this Instant Clear-Jel stuff. Instant Clear-Jel is chemically modified corn starch. And that is all that is in the Instant Clear-Jel bag. No other ingredients. I used Cornaby’s E-Z Gel. It’s available on Amazon for $14.99 for a 1-pound bag. I was able to get it at my little independent grocery store for $9.99. My Smith’s doesn’t carry it. There are several other Instant Clear-Jel options on Amazon; if you are buying it to make instant pudding, make sure what you get indicates that it is instant. Instant Clear-Jel can also be used in canning pie fillings and stews—places where you might normally use cornstarch or flour for thickening but don’t because those ingredients are not safe for canning.
Thank you so much for your research and testing. I had been looking for a no cook instant pudding recipe. I was sure the instant Clear Jel was the answer but had not been able to track down a recipe. Powdering the regular granulated sugar makes sense so it can completely dissolve. Your blog is one of my favorites and I have learned so much. I appreciate your hard work and dedication.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you find the information here valuable. I was wondering whether people would think something like instant Clear Jel was a bit trivial, but I have your comment and a friend called last night to say how much she appreciated it as well. So I guess I did good. Thank you for letting me know my efforts aren't wasted.
DeletePlease tell me if you think this would work with stevia in the raw powder?
DeleteI'm sorry, I really don't know. If the stevia can be measured the same as sugar, my guess would be yes. I don't use stevia as my husband doesn't really care for it. Perhaps you could try it out and let us know.
DeleteQuestion: Do you measure the sugar and then powder it? What about just using regular powdered sugar? Thanks so much for all you do! I check your blog several times a week and have used much of your material in a preparedness group that I teach, along with steering them to read your blog themselves.
ReplyDeleteI obviously got ahead of myself in writing this post and will insert some clarifications. Yes, the granulated sugar is measured first and then powdered. This is because commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch added to it to prevent caking. Unfortunately, in some recipes the cornstarch imparts an off taste, and this is one of them.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you find this blog helpful and share it with others. The whole idea is for all of us to get better prepared.