For me, nothing smells and tastes like fall more than a warm bowl of Indian Pudding topped with a creamy, melty scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s a classic New England dessert made from cornmeal, milk, molasses and spices that are baked in the oven until set, but the method is tricky enough that most folks look for their Indian Pudding in restaurants rather than at home.
Slow-Cooker Indian Pudding Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Well, those days are officially over. Thanks to the colonial-era experts at Plimoth Plantation, we now have a trusty Indian Pudding recipe that you can make right in your slow cooker!
Making the pudding. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
In truth, Indian Pudding wants to be in the slow cooker. It’s supposed to sit and simmer for a long time in the oven at a low temperature to achieve a smooth and creamy texture. If it’s rushed, or if the oven door keeps opening and closing, the cornmeal might not break down properly, and your pudding will be gritty. This is why the slow cooker is ideal for good Indian Pudding. With a little prep up front on the stove-top, you can then transfer the batter to the slow cooker for a nice long, slow bake.
Once mine was ready, I spooned a generous amount into a dessert bowl, but it wasn’t quite finished.
Indian Pudding Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
What it needed was in the freezer — a thick scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Just add ice cream! Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Placed on top of the hot pudding, the ice cream melts and combines with the pudding to form a caramel-colored sauce.For me, this sauce is the very best part of the whole Indian Pudding experience.
Melty and spicy pudding perfection. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Mmmm. As I am fond of saying, this is a dish that’s not going to win any beauty contests, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious!
Nothing left to do but dig in. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Dessert (or sometimes breakfast) of colonial champions!
I’m so glad to now have an easy slow cooker Indian Pudding recipe that I can have baking away while dinner is cooking, I’m at work, or out doing holiday errands. Coming home to this is like coming home to the most vintage of New England comfort food.
Try it this holiday season or winter and see for yourself, then let us know what you think!
This post was first published in 2012 and has been updated.
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
