Kid Pizza’s Tapioca Pudding in a Crockpot Thread

[BakerAunt]

Kid Pizza's Tapioca Pudding

Kid Pizza sent me an email earlier this past week with his new technique and recipe for Tapioca Pudding. After several emails, back and forth, this is what I believe is the final version. I just got a new slow cooker, so I will be trying this recipe along with all the rest of you pudding lovers. So, in his word, COMES......
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Z~BESTUS TAPIOCA PUDDING
Cass Avons's Recipe
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Good morning Cynthia & Penelope. Here is the recipe that I came up with for the both of you.
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I hope you will enjoy it as much as I & the employees here at the home have.
Cynthia, I am also posting the volume weights for Penelope's benefit. Begin by rubbing a stick of butter up & down the walls & base of the crock pot. This way the tapioca will not stick to the pot & helps to make clean up easier.
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Milk...........3 1/4 cups + 2 TBLS..........27 oz........(84.375%)
Half & Half milk...1/2 cup + 2 TBLS.......5 oz........(15.625%)
TOTAL WEIGHT....................................32 oz.............100%
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Sugar......1/2 cup + 1 TBL................................3.75 oz.....11% *
Small pearl Tapioca.....1/2 cup + 1.5 TBL......3 5/8 oz.....11.3/8%
MINUTE Tapioca or pearl**...1.75 TBLS............7/8 oz.......2.3/4%
Salt 1/4 tsp...................................................36 7/8 oz...125.125%
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SPICES of your choice. I used CINNAMON & NUTMEG but mainly Cinnamon. Add spices to your taste.
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* Sugar & spices should be added after the cooking is completed & stirred well to melt. Do not add sugar at the beginning of the cooking process.
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After a one nite in the fridge you can continue adding spices & sugar as well as half & half or whipping cream in order to get the consistency you are wanting.
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I have added CRUSHED PINEAPPLE in the crock pot about 6 oz. This is a option. You can add some of the drained pineapple juice in the mix in order to loosen up the pudding the next day when you make your adjustments.
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NOTE: I strongly advise you add the pineapple. There is a very very large difference with it. Important as well, I add about 1/2 TBSP of pineapple on top of my portion of the pudding as well. Again, this makes a very big difference in the finished pudding.
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** At the end of cooking time add about 2 or 3 Tbls of milk to the ground up Minute Tapioca & stir & then mix it in the crock pot let it cook about 10 /15, minutes it will help thicken the pudding. Put the 1.75 Tbsp Minute Tapioca in spice grinder or small food processor to grind to fine powder. Mix powder with milk to help thicken pudding.
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REMBER to turn the slow cooker off when the concoction is still loose as it still continues to cook until it sucks up all the milk.
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Directions:
Add 2 cinnamon sticks & the peel of one lemon into the well buttered crockpot. Add the tapioca pearls, milk & 1/2 & 1/2 and stir. Cover let sit for 40 minutes covered to soak the pearls. Then turn on LOW HEAT for about 1 hour. Stir every now & then until thickened but not totally, because it will still continue to cook from the residual heat. Keep it rather loose. Now you can add the sugar & spices.
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Next day when cooled. Adjust the pudding for sugar, spices & consistency. Total cooking time was about 2 hours & 45 minutes.
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Cass adds 10 oz of drained pineapple into the mix when making the adjustments. Save the juice. If you like, you can use 1 or 2 Tbls for the adjustments.......it is an option. When ready to serve, ladle about 3/4 TB OF CRUSHED PINEAPPLE on top. What a difference it makes for the quality of the pudding!
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Respectfully submitted,
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~Cindy
posted by: Mrs Cindy on November 15, 2015 at 4:48 pm in Baking, desserts and sweets

reply by: cwcdesign on November 16, 2015 at 8:55 pm
Oh Lordy, Mrs Cindy, I hope it's not 375 ounces of sugar!!!!!

reply by: Mrs Cindy on November 17, 2015 at 10:47 am
I'll have to do a weight on a 1/2 cup plus 1.75 to see what it is supposed to weigh. That was the number Cass gave me. I didn't check it.
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~Cindy

reply by: KIDPIZZA on November 17, 2015 at 11:36 am
CYNTHIA & CAROL:
Good morning. It is very simple Ladies!!!! a decimal point has been omitted it is simply 3.75

reply by: Mrs Cindy on November 17, 2015 at 2:27 pm
I had forgotten how much I love tapioca. Man, oh, man! Do I love tapioca!!
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My first pot turned out magnificent!! I had to scale it down a tiny bit due to the size of the slow cooker, but it still was creamy and sweet. Perfect consistency.
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Now, I have a confession to make. I could not use the pineapple that KP so strongly advised about. T.S. can ferret out one iota of pineapple at 100 paces. He vigorously despises pineapple! If I was going to have the slightest chance of a possibility of getting him to taste this pudding, there could not be any pineapple anywhere close to it.
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That said, I used 1 full teaspoon of Vietnamese cinnamon and a few grindings of nutmeg. I used a full 1/2 cup of sugar, even though I should have decreased it according to the rest of the recipe. He actually tasted it. Not a big bite, but probably 1/2 teaspoon. Wrinkled his nose and said, "what IS this stuff?" But, he tasted it. I can now add the pineapple if I wish.
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If you haven't had any tapioca in years (since you were a kid) or since your mom made it from the little red MINUTE Tapioca box, you are in for a treat. I didn't have to use the trick of grinding some of the minute tapioca and adding it to the cooked pudding to act as a thickener. It thickened nicely. In surgery this morning I told the RN I was looking forward to getting home to my tapioca. She rolled her eyes and asked, almost a whisper, "homemade?" When I said yes, she told me, there is NOTHING in the world like homemade tapioca. She was absolutely correct. Try it!
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Another superb recipe from the MAESTRO!
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~Cindy
p.s. Thank you, KP, for the sugar correction.

reply by: KIDPIZZA on November 18, 2015 at 9:26 am
D'LADY:
Good morning Mary~Ann. Yes, there even is a "CHOCO RICE PUDDING recipe that you can make as well as a choco tapioca You do not have to use pearl type of tapioca...you can use "MINUTE TAPIOCA" sold in a package in the super market. I have never made it that way but I have some recipes using that version.
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Have a nice day my dear friend.
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~KIDDO.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on November 18, 2015 at 12:41 pm
D-Lady, the way to make the 'fish eyes' disappear is to hit the finished pudding with an immersion blender. I've done that with rice pudding, too. Especially for babies or small toddlers.
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The beauty of rice pudding and tapioca is the texture. Without that texture, it's nothing more than a vanilla pudding. Or, like KP says, a blanc mange.
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MINUTE tapioca has the pearls in it. They are very small. This is probably what you ate as a child since it dominated the market in the 50's and 60's. You can make it into a tapioca 'starch', with no pearls, by whizzing it up in a spice/coffee grinder.
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You can make either pudding into a chocolate version by adding cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder. I've done that, also. Either pudding is very adaptable, but the texture is the thing. If you are just planning to buzz it with the immersion blender, make regular pudding from the start. Don't waste your time with cooking rice or tapioca in the slow cooker.
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~Cindy
p.s. BTW, I had a wonderful bowlful of tapioca yesterday after getting home (surgery went fine) and another for breakfast this morning, after sleeping off the residual anesthesia.
~C

reply by: Mrs Cindy on November 20, 2015 at 10:42 am
I finished off the regular tapioca and it was as advertised, creamy, rich, delicious! Everything Cass promised. So.......being the way I am about recipes, and with his blessing, I decided to tweak a bit and see what I got.
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I made chocolate tapioca. HEAVEN!!! I had some super high quality European Dutch processed cocoa. I added 1/2 cup to the milk and tapioca mixture right from the start. I whisked it in really good, added the lemon rind and cinnamon sticks. 40 minutes later I realized I had not buttered the inside of the crock pot. Poured it all out into a big measuring cup and washed and buttered crock. Back everything went, into the pot and on to the low heat.
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As for the tapioca. A Vietnamese friend picked it up for me. She wasn't sure what I meant by 'small pearl' so she got me two different sizes. A pretty small pearl and a larger (1/4") one. I also had a box of MINUTE tapioca. I combined all three sizes, just for the fun of it. The textural differences are really nice and the itsy-bitsy ones from the MINUTE tapioca, helped with the thickening.
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I needed to add almost 3/4 cup sugar to offset the bitter cocoa taste, and I did not add any other spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg. This is a great pudding. Like they used to say, "Try it! You'll like it!"
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~Cindy

reply by: dachshundlady on November 21, 2015 at 8:07 am
I printed out the recipe but on close inspection, I am confused. First it says to cook on low for 1 hour, then add ground up tapioca and a couple Tablespoons of milk and cook another 15 minutes. But later it says that the total cooking time is 2 hours 45 minutes. Do you heat it again the next day?
I also wonder if mine will take longer because I have an original Rival crock pot (two actually) from the early seventies and it cooks much lower than today's crock pots which start right up at a high temp for an hour or two to prevent food poisoning I guess. I don't know how we survived over all these years. I have even used mine for chicken and pork. I gave away my big fancy new one because it cooked way too fast and actually overcooked.

reply by: KIDPIZZA on November 21, 2015 at 9:21 am
D'LADY:
Good morning my friend. I also have a very old slow cooker which I use for my puddings. Re~read the directions please. Mary~Ann, we mix the tapioca powder with a few TBLS of cold milk & mix to make a slurry (paste Then blend in.
This is done toward the end just as the concoction is beginning to lose it's thinness. This acts like cornstarch we use to thicken other puddings.
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NO, NO ~Mary~ANN we do not re~heat the pudding the next day. The next day we use to make our adjustments with more sugar or 1/2/1/2 milk & spices to your consistency IF NECESSARY (CAPISH). This is how we get the flavor & consistency that is lacking when we do a one shot cook like everybody does in this world when they cook puddings..
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Have a nice day my friend.
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~KIDDO.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on November 21, 2015 at 8:12 pm
The cook times ARE a bit confusing. I think the time (although not actually cooking) includes the 40 minutes of soaking time in the beginning. Also, I found the taste test to work the best. Taste a small bite and check for doneness. My big, 1/4", pearls took MUCH longer to cook all the way through than the smaller pearls. And by much longer, I mean over 4 hours!
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I must say, though, I think I prefer the chocolate tapioca to the plain tapioca. Of course, I'm a little bit of a chocolate freak, so it stands to reason I would like it. The other reason is that it isn't quite as sweet. I could make it a dark, bittersweet chocolate.
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KP's technique is the key to this pudding. You can add almost any combination of ingredients, as long as you follow his technique. It will turn out creamy and rich every time. I didn't have to add the ground tapioca and milk to thicken my pudding. I had added 1 1/2 Tbsp MINUTE tapioca from the start, so it thicken beautifully. But, I also had three different size pearls in my pudding. It looked a bit funny, but it sure tasted great!!
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~Cindy

reply by: Mrs Cindy on November 24, 2015 at 5:53 pm
Espresso powder would be a wonderful addition. That chocolate tapioca was so rich, but espresso powder would have kicked it up a notch! Definitely try it.
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Yes, I love the eggless version. It doesn't seem so caloric, but it's still very rich. Using Cass' technique is one of the best I've found!
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~Cindy

reply by: dachshundlady on December 05, 2015 at 6:44 am
The Tapioca ingredients are in my 70s Rival Crock Pot on low. I just don't see how one hour will be enough. Those old crock pots are REALLY low on low. I will give it an hour and may have to turn up to high. I also have my ground minute tapioca soaking in milk already. I used the Magic Bullet and it is not a fine powder; more like smaller bits of minute tapioca.

reply by: dachshundlady on December 05, 2015 at 8:44 am
I did indeed have to switch my old crockpot to high after an hour. I let it cook for another hour and then whisked in the soaked tapioca. It worked great. Added a couple more tablespoons of milk, the sugar, cinnamon and a little salt. It tastes great. It's cooling in the fridge for tonight's dessert.
Can't wait to try chocolate with a little espresso powder.

reply by: KIDPIZZA on December 05, 2015 at 10:25 am
ROBINWABAN:
Good morning my dear friend. Listen Robin. you do not need the minute type for now. If you have the pearl type just grind it up in your food proc.
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The reason I inserted this powered type was to help thicken the pudding somewhat more because I did not want to employ eggs & cornstarch.
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Enjoy the day Robin.
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~CASS.

reply by: robinwaban on December 05, 2015 at 11:29 am
Thanks, Cass. Can I also ask why there's no vanilla? I can't recall if I use it for regular tapioca. My husband will adore this recipe, especially the pineapple. I am making it this afternoon. Will let you know!

reply by: KIDPIZZA on December 05, 2015 at 11:43 am
YES ROBIN, You can use vanilla You can use what you think is proper amount including the spices...I use cinn. mostly & also some nutmeg. You can use whatever you think & the amounts as well.
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Good luck my friend.
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~CASS.

reply by: robinwaban on December 05, 2015 at 4:03 pm
OK, done! Oh my! So good. I added about 6 oz. of crushed pineapple after I shut off my slow cooker. I'll add a little to the top when serving tomorrow. Thank you so much, Cass, for your input. I did add vanilla. And Mrs. Cindy, next is chocolate. Nursing a cold, so this definitely helps! I will add a pic later. I have a little whipped cream for it, too.

reply by: robinwaban on December 06, 2015 at 12:39 pm
As I stated yesterday, I made the tapioca pudding. While it was warm I kept tasting it and it was creamy and delicious. However, the next day when it cooled it was still delicious, but lost the creaminess and it had some lumps of tapioca. This was my problem in the past when I've made the stovetop version. Cass, help!
What am I doing wrong? How do I make it creamy again?

reply by: KIDPIZZA on December 06, 2015 at 2:54 pm
ROBINWABIN::
Good afternoon. I am glad you tried my tapioca recipe& you enjoyed it. I cannot be certain Robin, I think I may have misjudged when I suggested to you to grind up some pearls in your food proc for a subst for MINUTE type of tapioca.
I beginning to believe comparing the two may be like comparing regular rice to minute rice.
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Robin, next time if you do not wish to purchase the minute type omit this sequence just once & see how the pudding fares.
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I am sorry if I have misled you. Please keep us posted.
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For now add some half & half or cream & blend it in till it gets creamy.
Enjoy the rest of the day my friend.
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~CASS.

reply by: KIDPIZZA on December 07, 2015 at 11:04 am
LIVINGWELL:
Good morning again Penelope. Yes my friend use the small pearl tapioca for the pudding. The MINUTE tapioca use to assist the coagulation of the concoction. My culinary imagination tells me that you can grind up some pearl tapioca in your FP & employ that for the minute type. But member Robinwaban did that & she reported she had a issue with the outcome. Your choice, buy the Minute type or try my way once grind it & use it that way or omit it & see what the outcome is.
Please report your results. (The "MINUTE" type tapioca is already ground it is sold in boxes that way it is used mostly in place of cornstarch for pudding or fruit pie thickening. No need to grind it.
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Penelope, as far as the PINEAPPLE is concerned buy the CRUSHED type Do not mix any in. For your portion ladle a few TBLS right on top of your allotment & enjoy it that way...that is the way I eat mine.
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Good luck & report the results back.
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~CASS.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on December 08, 2015 at 3:50 pm
The very best part about Cass's recipes for Rice Pudding and Tapioca? They are 'thickened' without eggs or cornstarch. I know there's a lot of butter and cream/milk, but most pudding recipes of this sort rely on eggs. Every calorie I can avoid, is great by me. I love that the pudding is so rich and creamy, without adding the eggs and cornstarch. Of course, he knows just how to balance the ingredients to achieve the perfect outcome.
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Agreeing with D-Lady about Minute Tapioca. I have always kept a small box in the pantry, but most people wouldn't know what it was. As soon as I get it home I buzz it thoroughly in the FP or VitaMix until I have a fine powder. I put it back in the box and put the entire box in a ZipLoc bag labeled TAPIOCA POWDER. This is used to thicken juicy fruit pies. Recently I found a package of tapioca starch at the Asian market. I haven't used it yet, but have a recipe that calls for it. I'm assuming it's the same as buzzed-up Minute tapioca.

reply by: KIDPIZZA on December 12, 2015 at 4:56 pm
LIVINGWELL:
Good afternoon my friend. I am glad you are preparing to do the TAPIOCA recipe.
Condition your cooker by applying the end of your butter stick up & down the cooker walls & bottom surface. This will help to make your clean~up much easier.
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Penelope, soak the pearl tapioca & the milk & the half & half for approx. 40, min to soak them. Then add the 2, cinn. sticks & the skin of the lemon. Turn on the cooker on low for 1, hour un~disturbed. Then stir. After cooking for approx. 30, more minutes remove the lemon skin & the cinn. sticks. If left too long they will turn bitter. Stir every now & again. Then toward the end when the pudding is slowly is drying out (the pearls are sucking up the liquids.... make a slurry (the MINUTE tapioca with COLD milk ( just a few TBLS mix & add to the concoction & stir well this potion will help with the coagulation. From here it should be done with~in approx 1/2, hour. After it begins to cool, add the sugar & spices to your taste, & stir well. After an overnite in the fridge Make adj of sugar, spices Add half & half & pineapple if you like. Remember add only enough liquid to acquire the creamy consistency you want....PATIENCE.
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Now then Penelope, do not grind the MINUTE tapioca because it already has been done that by the MANU. This product is pearl tapioca that has been ground. What you should do when ready to measure out the amount according to their instructions shake the contents in the box then remove the amount you wish to use.
Penelope I think I covered your concerns. If not post back.
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Penelope it would help if you do what I always do...Re~read the directions maybe 5X in order to get the idea of what needs to done & the WHY of it. It helps a lot my friend.
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I know you will do my recipe PROUD so do not worry so much over the outcome.
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Enjoy the rest of the day Penelope.
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~CASS.

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