Nothing was as fun as peeling back the lid on those individual pudding cups after school. Now, I am a big kid and wanted something with a little more grown up flavor for my afternoon snack. These individual salted caramel butterscotch pudding recipe were the perfect creation! The smooth pudding has just a hint of vanilla infused with the flavor and the creamy caramel sauce on top just makes it feel more decadent. No one thinks of pudding when they are looking for a fancy dessert. Hand them one of these and with that first bite, watch them be reminded of those fun after school snacks and impressed with just how far pudding has come since then!
The other night a woman I respect who was celebrating a momentous birthday looked at me and said that she wishes she could be me when she grows up. That I have my shit together, and I do the things I set out to do.
I sat in shock.
I wanted to crumble and cry. Less than 12 hours later, when the dishes were done from our dinner party, and I had worked out, I stood in my kitchen heart rate pacing and panic pulsing through me without any reason. No justification for it, just a splash of overwhelming anxiety. My dogs had run through my freshly cleaned kitchen in the classic wild puppy scene smearing mud and who knows what from end to end. Today I am stretching pennies as far as they can go and trying to figure out how to put gas in my car until the next check comes in. It’s the joy of being freelance. I am sitting in my back room at my full-time job juggling emails and real people trying to buy comic books, trying to whip up a post for a client and put the finishing polish on an email blast and someone just texted me asking if we could have a conference call in 20 minutes. There are so many trains of thought I don’t even know which one to throw myself off of right now without colliding with another.
I do not have my shit together.
Not one bit.
But I try.
Every day I get up, put my head down and work harder than I did the day before. I dream big impossible thoughts and have found there are a few other crazies out there that dream big crazy thoughts too. I focus on tasks so hard and strive to make them perfect that I lose sight sometimes of the whole picture. I chat off the wall ideas with new friends that have the same passions as me. I break on Tuesdays for coffee with other entrepreneurs just to make sure I am not too far gone. I endeavor for perfection so much that I miss out on all the small wins that get you through. Needless to say, I am an all in kind of gal. And that can sometimes be dangerous.
The other day while huffing it at the gym, I was listening to my nerdcasts and the woman quoted something she’d heard, “Have the courage to find the grace along the way.” She was talking about how she can bravely enter into new risks, take on new challenges with all of her heart without worrying about the perfection of it. She launched her business without a full plan, knowing that it had to work. This is a theme I see over and over again.
Knowing it has to work and to figure it out along the way.
I am a hardcore planner. I like data, analytics, charts, timelines, instructions. I want to know how everything is going to go 5 minutes before it happens. But it holds me back, slows me down. While searching for the why, I am missing the now. Figure it out along the way. It just sounds so carefree and effortless. It can’t possibly be that easy. But, I am tired of missing out.
For years, people have been asking me to teach them how I take photos. I always brushed it off, not having the personal self-esteem to believe I was good enough. I made excuses. I didn’t believe they really wanted me.
Now I am trying it.
Today I am nervous, terrified, anxious, sick to my stomach to announce that I am launching a passion project. (Insert a dramatic drumroll).
Oh my god guys! This is happening!!! √ Sign up for details!!! https://buff.ly/1MAQGZC
A photo posted by kita roberts (@passthesushi) on
Foodie Pop-Up Workshops!
The goal is to team up with amazing creatives around the country and host workshops for food bloggers to hone their skills and get people learning hands-on how to use the tools they have to become more successful bloggers!
The first official one is on the calendar for June 12-14 in Myrtle Beach South Carolina, (go on, click through for the details) and it is focusing on photography and styling. I am teaming up with the amazing Mrs. Ally Phillips of Ally’s Bohemian Kitchen to create an intense workshop for 2 1/2 days! We are going from start to finish full on with tips on creative styling and shooting several different recipes, honing in and developing the style that fits your brand, as well as offering one on one sessions and an open Q&A and peer critiques. Most of all, it’s going to be a fun supportive group of people to learn together with and support as you grow!
Oh my god guys, it’s going to be awesome! If you have been struggling to embrace your camera and master its potential, please check this workshop out! If you can’t make Myrtle beach, subscribe the newsletter and stay tuned for upcoming pop-up workshops!
For right now, if you need me, I will be breathing heavily into a paper bag,
but hey, I made you Salted Caramel Butterscotch Pudding.
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 teas salt
- 3 cups while milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 tbs butter
- 2 tbs whiskey
- See the Salted Caramel Topping Recipe
- Coarse sea salt for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar and water gently. When the sugar has completely dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high and cook watching closely with no stirring until it turns dark amber. Remove from heat and sit for one minute. Carefully stir in the cream (It will bubble a lot but settle quickly). Set aside
- Whisk the brown sugar, corn starch, and salt together in a clean saucepan. Add the milk and whisk to combine. Split the vanilla bean down the center, using the tip of the knife to scrape out the seeds, and add them to the milk mixture. Toss in the bean for good measure too - its going to mingle in there for a while to infuse. Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes just to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the caramel cream sauce to combine.
- Slowly pour a third of the mixture into the bowl with the whisked eggs. I do this a little at a time, whisking a lot in between to make sure the eggs are getting creamy and not curdling. Whisk in the rest of the hot milk mixture a little at a time.
- Return the now combined egg and milk mixture back to the saucepan and place over medium-high heat, whisking, until the it thickens to a nice pudding texture. This took about 7 to 10 minutes for the perfect pudding like thickness on my electric stove. Watch carefully as too much heat can cook the bottom before setting the whole pudding. Remove the vanilla bean with kitchen tongs when you see it poking about.
- Off heat, whisk in the butter and whiskey. Whisk vigorously to combine and allow steam to come off the pudding.
- Transfer to a glass bowl, cover well with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding and allow to cool.
- When ready to serve, spoon the pudding into individual cups and serving ramekins. Cover with a layer of salted caramel sauce and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.
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Good luck! This is so exciting for you and I am sure it will be super successful. Signing up for the newsletter to see all of the details!
If it’s a project that you are passionate about, it will turn out great! It’s the people who work without passion that turn out mediocre stuff.
“It is your passion that empowers you to be able to do that thing you were created to do.”
So exciting! I’ve always been self-employed, poor and immensely happy. You learn the differences between what you want and what you need, and the joys of taking credit for a job well done. Congrats on this new adventure! I know you’ll be brilliant… xox
I am SOOOOOOOO proud of you! You are like the bunny that keeps running and you are figuring things out as you go. Anyone who tells you that he/she has her act all together is living in la-la land. Not a bad place to be but not quite the same world in which we live.
Continue striving, reaching, stretching….just be sure to touch the ground and remind yourself how amazing you are. I shall be busy dreaming about this butterscotch pudding!