Or, for those of you speak Latin, “The Opposite of E Pluribus Unum.”
Today’s recipe is super-exciting because it’s flexible, so it yields itself to over a million variations. You get to be creative: Vegan Whipped Cream? Banana pudding? Pumpkin pudding? Chocolate-mocha-fudge? You can make all these and more from this one basic recipe! Working with agar agar can be troublesome because certain ingredients (such as citrus fruits) may inhibit the gelling process. So you’re never sure if the final product’ll turn out right. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to make recipes on a prayer; if I’m making something, I want to KNOW it’s going to turn out well and that my time won’t have been wasted.
But agar is such a useful ingredient when it does work, so I didn’t want to give up on it completely. Therefore, I experimented until I figured out a way to have my agar and eat it too– no risk involved! I’ve tweaked the recipe so it’ll work with just about any add-ins, even those pesky citrus fruits. Plus, you can make up a big batch of the “base” ahead of time and then portion it out to make different-flavored puddings all at once!
“Working with Agar” Tutorial
Basic Agar Pudding
(makes about 2 cups, or two large servings)
- 2 and 2/3 cups milk of choice (640g) (I like almond milk)
- 2 tablespoons agar flakes (5 to 6 g)
Follow the directions shown under the photos below. Then refer to the “add in ideas” section to make puddings, mousses, sauces, and more!
Step One: Measure the agar and milk into a pot. Before turning on the heat, let the two sit for 5 minutes to help the gelling process.
Step Two: Slowly bring to a boil. After it starts to boil, lower to a simmer until the agar flakes pretty much dissolve, about 5-8 minutes. (They won’t dissolve completely. It should look something like the above photo.)
Step Three: Turn off heat and leave for a few minutes (5ish) to cool, then put in the fridge (covered or not).
Step Four: When it’s cooled and gelled, the fun part begins.
Now you get to make pudding, or my favorite Vegan Whipped Cream.
Be creative! And, as I said before, nothing’s stopping you from making extra, dividing the recipe, and adding different mix-ins to each serving! Put your mix-ins into the pot, and use your hand blender to blend it all together (or, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor. Lately, I’ve been loving my Magic Bullet).
Below are some add-in ideas I’ve brainstormed (not all of which I’ve tried)… maybe after you experiment, you can come back and leave me comments telling me what YOU did with the basic mix. I’d love to know! (Seriously.)
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Add-In Ideas:
(I’ve tried 1, 3, 5, and 6, with great results)
- Add pureed pumpkin, winter squash, or sweet potato, and add some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Add pureed fruit, or even a jar of baby food or applesauce!
- Decrease the amount of milk, and add some coffee, for a coffee-flavored pudding.
- Use a flavored beverage as your milk, such as Silk Coffee, Silk Eggnog or Chai Latte.
- Mix in some protein powder.
- Add veggies to make a thick, creamy soup.
- Use coconut milk as the non-dairy milk, and add coconut shavings (and maybe even chocolate chips!).
- Mix in some nut butter, and jelly, fruit, or chocolate chips(!) for PB&J, PB-Banana, or Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Cup Pudding.
Anyone have other flavor ideas?
Sacia says
I make this with fruit juice. I don’t blend it, and it resembles jello.
Fiona says
Hi. I’ve been making this for a few weeks and love it! One question though, I make a big batch cause it’s quite an effort to make it but after a few days in the fridge it seems to disintegrate and become quite watery. Any ideas on how to keep it creamy? Thanks.
Maggie says
Hi Katie! Have you tried using agar agar to make ice cream?? I have been trying different vegan ice cream recipes and thought this may improve. Texture. Thoughts??
Yoli says
Hello, I have tried making whipped cream from Raw Milk (tasted too milky for me) Tried the coconut thick part of the can and had no success. I would like to try this but I only have agar powder. Do you know the measurement for the powder?
Thanks so much,
Yoli
ellen says
This sounds great! How long does it last in the fridge?
Cc says
Maybe my tastebuds are super sensitive but the flavor of the seaweed is way too strong for a dessert. I used the Eden flakes with coconut milk base. I tried many different things in my magic bullet to irradicate the seaweed flavor. Nothing seemed to work. All I can say is make a small amount first to see if you like it. I threw out my big lump o agar into compost.
Cc says
I wanted to add that I have had good lunch with kudzu as a thickener for desserts since it doesn’t have much flavor.
Unofficial CCK Helper says
It sounds like you got a bad package of agar. Agar has NO flavor at all. I would advise bringing it back to the store to get your money back.
Whit says
Hi Katie! I would like to report back to you in that I tried this recipe with unflavoured protein powder, vanilla extract, almond extract, and a little honey. Wowza was it ever good! you could not tell there was any protein powder in it.
I used it on top of my chocolate pancake and it was like eating dessert! I will definitely be making this base repeatedly!
Also, I was wondering if you have ever tried to make a cheesecake using this base recipe as the cheesecake base? do you think it would work?!
Whit
Kathleen Walsh RN says
I tried the recipe for pudding and what I have is a thin mess. I followed the directions completely and the mixture never ‘gelled.’ Seems like a waste of time and supplies; Agar Agar is not cheap, nor is my time. When I saw that the effort was ‘failing’ I added some Xantham Gum and some pecan meal and 1 tsp of Energ-Egg Replacer, to no avail. It sits in the refrigerator now, almost an hour later and is still ‘thin’ soup. I used Almond milk as you suggest..and all I have is wasted time and a mess. Suggestions? Thanks
Kathleen Walsh RN says
Well, my report of failure was too soon. It is fine, now…it just took time. Though I am glad that I added the Xanthum gum and the Energ-Egg Replacer. I am not a pudding person, but my husband is and I wanted to do something special for my favorite Vegan, for our anniversary. I added more organic brown sugar and more chocolate chips as the basic pudding was not sweet enough for The Pudding Expert. Next time, I will try coconut milk mixed with the chocolate Almond milk..as the Almond is very thin. Kudzu is a good idea, too..and I could add some protein powder. All is well, though…I ‘whipped’ it quite a bit to get the bits of Agar to soften all the way. A start: now I’d like to try a butterscotch pie filling version of the pudding method. I don’t like Veganism..but I’m caught; so since my husband is very strict, I am tapping into creative ideas as much as possible. Thanks for this wonderful site!
Steph says
Do you think you could stick this in an ice cream maker for some ice cream??
amelie says
thanks for this information!
Arianna says
Amazing recipe!! I wonder if I can put in the microwave my pudding after blending it, just to eat it warm! Will the consistency be still creamy?
Ari 🙂
VOLFF says
merveilleuse recette mais je ne maitrise pas très bien la langue de Shakespeare!!!, c’est bien dommage de ne pas avoir une traduction en français.
Marianna says
Hi could I make a pudding if I didn’t use any milk. For my gut I want to avoid denatured milk which happens to milk when its seated because it changes the shape of the proteins.
My question is can i still make a pudding if I flavor the agar with using carrots juice or flavored water such as cold tea instead of coconut milk?
I was thinking that it might not work because the fat content in the milk might be important for helping the pudding consistency. So I want to ask this question.
Also if I am correct about the above requirement, then could I use carrot juice or tea if I prior to adding it to agar agar, I dissolved some butter in it to make it “thicker” such as coconut oil or regular butter?
Thanks,
MT
Monique says
Hi Do you have to re-melt after you add the fruit? it did not turn out great
Bill Graves says
I have worked with agar for over 30 years in microbiology. For your citrus problem or any highly acidic juice. make up the recipe but leave out about 3/4 cup of water or non acidic liquid. Make the recipe and then add agar to liquid, boil it and add at the end of the recipe as it cools. Under some slightly acid conditions the acid hydrolysis the agar or breaks it down with heat. should solve the citrus problem.