When making eggless puddings, a cook needs to find ingredients that will thicken the puddings in place of eggs. Eggless puddings do not need to be vegan; a cook can use either regular milk or a non-dairy milk. A number of ingredients work as thickeners, including corn starch or arrowroot powder. For smooth pudding, a cook should use a whisk and a strainer. Instead of using starch to thicken the pudding, which requires cooking, some people prefer to use banana, avocado, or tofu.
In some ways, making eggless puddings is simpler than preparing a custard-based pudding recipe. With traditional puddings, there is a risk of the pudding curdling when hot milk is poured into the warm, beaten egg mixture. Using cornstarch or another starch eliminates the risk of curdling.
To make eggless puddings using starch as the thickener, a cook should combine the starch with sugar and a bit of salt in a sauce pan. She should then slowly pour in the milk while heating the saucepan. To prevent the milk from scorching or burning, some cooks use a double boiler or place a metal mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. The water is hot enough to cook the pudding but not hot enough to burn it.
When making eggless puddings, a cook wants to avoid lumps in the pudding, which form when the starch or other ingredients do not dissolve fully in the liquid. A wire or silicone-coated whisk will help break up any lumps during cooking. After the pudding is thickened and cooked, the cook may choose to press it through a fine mesh strainer, which eliminates any lumps and results in a very smooth pudding.
Another option when preparing eggless puddings is to use a fruit that is high in fat, such as avocado, to replace the egg. Avocados thicken the pudding and do not leave a noticeable taste. When a cook uses avocado or another fruit, such as a banana, to make an eggless pudding, she doesn't need to cook the pudding. Instead, the ingredients can be pureed together and then spooned into serving dishes.
Tofu acts as another egg replacer when making pudding. Silken tofu provides the best texture for the pudding. A firm or extra-firm tofu will be too tough and gritty. As with puddings made from avocados, tofu-based puddings do not need to be cooked. The ingredients, usually tofu, sugar, and a non-dairy milk, are simply blended together. Some cooks add flavors such as chocolate or vanilla.