Creamy, delicious and versatile are all characteristics of a German Vanilla Pudding. For many, they are a fond childhood memory. Vanilla pudding (Vanillepudding) is not only one of the most popular desserts in Germany but also a key base ingredient for many German dishes.

When I was living in the UK, the lack of Vanilla pudding instant mixes stopped me from making a lot of German recipes. I simply did not know how to make vanilla pudding from scratch. In hindsight, I scold myself for not checking out a recipe for homemade vanilla pudding earlier. The recipe is very simple and the ingredients are easy to get hold of.

Let’s get started by diving into the background of German vanilla pudding.

What is Vanilla Pudding?

Vanilla Pudding is a thick dessert crème made from milk and thickened with starch. It is traditionally flavoured with a vanilla bean (affiliate link). Nobody knows when exactly the tradition of pudding started in Germany, but it is believed to have a British influence.

History of Dr Oetker Vanilla Pudding (Vanille Pudding)

The production of the German pudding powder began in 1894 in the town of Bielefeld. The founder and pharmacist Dr. August Oetker started filling one of the first “instant pudding mixes” into paper bags. The mix was supposed to produce delicious pudding without having to add eggs. This brought pudding until then reserved for the rich, to the general population.

Dr Oetker was not the only manufacturer who started producing instant pudding powder mixes. At the beginning, the pudding was known as “„Stärkemus“ (starch mousse) and later „Stärkepudding“ (starch pudding) with reference to the high volume of starch in it’s ingredients.

The term “pudding” came from England, where it did not mean dessert at the time but was the name for a dumpling, consisting of bread, vegetables or meat.

The ingredients for Dr. Oetker’s pudding have not changed much in 130 years. The first two flavours were vanilla and chocolate pudding (which are still the most popular flavours today). Source Westfalen.blatt.de artle: Als Bielefeld »Puddingtown« wurde)

Uses of Vanilla Pudding in German Recipes

For Cakes

In Germany, you will find cakes with vanilla pudding filling everywhere. From Berliner donuts filled with pudding or little pastries called “Pudding Teilchen”.

Vanilla pudding is one of the key ingredients for many German cakes. You can for example just spread it on top of a cake base – see my Strawberry and Vanilla Pudding Cake Recipe or these easy rhubarb tarts.

Many German cake recipes, such as some German cheesecakes, use vanilla pudding as a stabilizer.

German Strawberry Vanilla Pudding Cake — This Strawberry Cake uses Vanilla Pudding as its Base

For German Butter Cream

German butter creme is a popular cake filling that is made from butter, vanilla pudding and milk. Some of the most famous cakes like Donauwelle and Frankfurter Kranz are filled with this German Butter Creme.

For German Pudding Creme (Pastry Cream)

German Pastry Creme is traditionally made from Vanilla Pudding and Whipped Cream. To further stabilise the cream for cakes, recipes often use gelatine. This is a common filling for German Beesting Cake. (Bienenstich Kuchen)

For Dessert

There are various desserts that make use of vanilla pudding. For example, it is great for layered desserts. I used my homemade rhubarb compote and layered it with vanilla pudding to create an easy but impressive dessert.

What else goes well with Vanilla Pudding

Rhubarb compote
Fresh fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
Rote Grütze (Red Berry dessert)
Milchreis (German Rice Pudding)
Hot cherries
Chocolate sprinkles or chocolate powder

Simple Recipe: Rhubarb Compote Layered with Vanilla Pudding

How to make homemade German Vanilla Pudding from scratch

Ingredients

1 vanilla bean (affiliate link) (alternatively use 6 teaspoon of vanilla sugar or 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (affiliate link))
500 ml / 16.9 fl oz whole milk (5% fat)
2 egg yolks (medium size)
40 g / 1.4 oz corn starch
50 g / 1.7 oz sugar
1 pinch of turmeric powder (optional for colour)

German Vanilla Pudding Recipe Steps

Slice open the vanilla bean (affiliate link) lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla pulp.
Pour the milk into a saucepan/ cooking pot and place the vanilla pulp on top. You should also cook the vanilla bean (affiliate link) skin as it has a lot of flavours. Start to boil.
While heating the milk, place the corn starch and sugar in a bowl. Add the 2 tablespoon of milk and two egg yolks and whisk to combine to a smooth mass. Make sure to whisk the mixture thoroughly as you do not want to have any clumps. (if you want to achieve a nice yellow colour add a pinch of turmeric. This will not affect the taste, just the colour).
Remove the vanilla bean (affiliate link) skin from the milk.
Pour the cornflour mixture into the milk and quickly stir. Bring back to boil while continually stirring. The milk should thicken. Remove the pudding from the heat.
Pour into pudding moulds or bowls and leave to cool.

Bonus Tips:

To avoid a skin building on the cooked vanilla pudding, place a sheet of cling film directly on the top of your vanilla pudding.
Do not discard the vanilla bean (affiliate link) after boiling the milk. Leave to try and use for your homemade vanilla sugar.

Recipe Variations

By Ingredient

Without Eggs: Corn starch is enough to stabilize the pudding. You can just omit the egg altogether. The egg yolk does help the pudding to get its lovely yellow colour. You can just use a pinch of turmeric in your egg-less vanilla pudding.
Without Sugar: For all those of you who follow a low-carb diet or don’t eat sugar, you can also use artificial sweeteners.
Without Milk: Vanilla pudding can very easily be made with almond or soya milk. Just replace cow milk one to one with the milk of your choice.
Gluten-Free: Vanilla pudding is naturally gluten-free, so you don't need to worry about this.

By Flavour

Chocolate Pudding (Schokoladenpudding) – add 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder to your vanilla pudding
Cream Pudding (Sahnepudding) – simply replace 150 ml / 5 fl oz of the milk with 150ml 5 fl oz stiff whipping cream.

Homemade Vanilla Pudding Powder Recipe

Making homemade vanilla pudding powder is easier than you think. It is also free from any preservatives and a lot more environmentally friendly than importing products around the globe.

I make my own and since then have not used any shop-bought pudding mixes. (even though I now live in Germany).

Ingredients for homemade German vanilla pudding powder

240 g corn starch
2 teaspoon ground vanilla bean (affiliate link) (you can buy it - or make your own)

To make up the vanilla pudding with homemade powder:

Simply use 40 gr of the Vanilla Powder, with 20 gr sugar and 2 egg yolks. Mix to a smooth paste with 2 tablespoon milk. Bring the 500 ml milk to boil and add the pudding mixture.

Recipe