5-Ingredient Dutch Pudding

Here’s a recipe for Vla (pronounces “fla”), a very popular dessert in Holland. When I visit my grandmother in Hardewijk, the grocery store has a whole vla section right by the milk and other dairy. It comes fresh in cartons like milk and it is a lovely light pudding. It is served traditionally, in my family at least, with hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) … and whipped cream if we’re felling fancy!

You can get vla in Tetra Packs in local specialty shops but fresh is best.

It turns out, it’s super simple to make! (I came across this recipe in a cook book owned by a friend and I can’t remember the name of the book or the authors. ) From the basic recipe, you can make other flavours, too.

Vanilla Vla

Serves 4 (just under 1 cup each)

2 cups Milk plus a little more

2 Egg Yolks

1/4 cup White Sugar

1/3 cup Corn Starch

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions:

Have all your ingredients measured and ready.

Put the milk in a pot and turn to medium heat. You don’t want the milk to boil, just to get hot.

In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, mix the sugar and the eggs first then add the corn starch.

Once the milk in your pot is steaming, spoon a little out at a time into the egg mixture to thin it until the egg mixture can be poured.

Pour the egg mixture into the milk, stirring the whole time. Be sure to scrape out all the egg mixture.

When the pudding thicken quickly (this will happen at about 170F), take off the heat and, through a medium mesh strainer, pout into a clean bowl.

Whisk in more milk to thin and cool the pudding. Cover with plastic and cool in the fridge for a few hours. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.

When ready to serve, take out of fridge, add a little more milk and whisk it smooth!

Top with hagelslag or whatever you have on hand.

Doubling

If you want to double the recipe, double everything but the corn starch. You can leave out about a tablespoon of the corn starch (so, 2/3 minus a tablespoon) and it will still set. I just find that it tastes too starchy if you put a full 2/3 cup in a double recipe.

Other Flavours

As you will see in the video below, I use milk from Sheldon Creek, a local dairy. They also make chocolate milk and produce different special flavours throughout the year like strawberry, egg nog and mint chocolate.

If you want a different flavour of pudding, just used flavoured milk and cut down your sugar. For really chocolately pudding, use chocolate milk and add some (sifted) cocoa powder into the egg mixture before adding it to the milk.

Here’s the video I made for you.