I’ve always preferred the term “classic” over “old-fashioned”.  The latter implies something dated. In my mind, something dusty with the smell of mothballs.  ”Classic,” however, depicts something timeless like a black dress or a pair of red pumps. It’s something you will go back over and over again.

This vanilla pudding is a classic. It’s rich and creamy without the powdery taste from the kind in a box. Sure it needs a few ingredients (eggs, milk, butter, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract), but you will be surprised at how easy it all comes together.

The key to a successful pudding is to keep stirring. Constant stirring will keep the eggs from curdling (i.e. scrambled eggs). It will also keep the corn starch from lumping. The mixture will seem thin at first, but it thicks very quickly in just a few minutes. You want to stay close to the stove and, yes you guessed it, keep stirring! Think of it as a way to burn off all the calories before you sit down to eat the pudding.

After you’ve mastered the basic recipe, you can play with it by adding cocoa powder and melted chocolate to make it a chocolate pudding. You can also add lemon extract and lemon zest to make it lemon pudding. Before I was pregnant, I liked to add shredded coconut and some rum for a tropical flavor.

This vanilla pudding goes with almost everything. You can serve it with fresh berries and whipped cream. Or use it as a filling for pies (think Boston cream pie) and tarts (think strawberry and pistachio tart). You can also use it in a truffle or a cream puff. I hope you will add this to your repertoire and invent new twists for this good old classic.

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk milk into sugar mixture, take care of dissolve the cornstarch and avoid lumps. Whisk in egg yolks.

Cook over medium heat while whisking constantly until mixture steams and thickens, about 8 minutes. Turn heat to low, still whisking, cook for another minute.

Remove from heat. Immediately pour mixture through sieve into bowl. Stir butter and vanilla into hot pudding.

Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding to prevent skim from forming while pudding cools. Chill for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Before serving, whisk pudding until smooth.

Serves 4.