I'm baffled that tapioca isn't celebrated more often. Tapioca pearls are derivative from the cassava plant and I adore their chewy little bites. This recipe is so easy to throw together and can be made entirely from scratch or barely from scratch depending on your mood- no judgement here as I would eagerly order pizza for dinner every night if I could. If you're down and out in the ol' energy department, grab a store-bought pie shell of your choosing, whip up a box of instant tapioca pudding and drizzle with pre-made caramel sauce. Batta bing, batta boom.
In a medium saucepan:
1/3 cup pearl tapioca
3/4 cup water
Bowl #1
One can of coconut cream
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
Bowl #2
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
On the sidelines:
Dulce de leche, store bought or homemade
1
Prepare the pie crust, recipe as follows. Roll out the pie crust and press into a standard pie pan. Line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Blind bake the pie crust until lightly golden brown. Remove the pie pan, remove the dried beans or pie weights, and place the pie pan back into the oven to bake for an additional five minutes or until the crust is golden brown all over. Remove and let cool.
2
In the saucepan, combine tapioca pearls and water. Let sit for 45 minutes.
3
In the second bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add in the sugar, gradually, and continue to beat until the egg whites are glossy and stiff.
4
Add the first bowl into the saucepan and stir to combine. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about ten minutes or until the tapioca starts to thicken nicely. Add in a few tablespoons of corn starch if the pudding hasn't reached a rather thick consistency.
5
Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly add in the egg whites, stirring constantly. If you're afraid of cooking the egg whites, add a little bit of the tapioca pudding into the egg whites and stir combine. Then, add the egg whites back into saucepan of tapioca pudding.
6
Place the pan back over medium heat and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
7
Once slightly cooled, pour into the baked pie crust and smooth the top. Place plastic wrap directly onto the pudding and stash in the fridge to continue to cool and set up.
8
When ready to serve, drizzle with dulce de leche.
Pie Crust
Bowl of a food processor:
1 cup plus two tablespoons pastry flour, or all-purpose if need be
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ounces cream cheese, chilled
6 tablespoons butter, diced and chilled
9 tablespoons heavy cream
1
I make this pie crust in the food processor to save clean-up and time. Simply throw everything into the bowl of your food processor and pulse until the dough comes together. Be very careful not to over process the dough- stop mixing once the dough can be pressed together. Shape the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.
2
Due to the cream cheese, this dough is a bit stickier than other doughs and therefore, I like to roll this dough out between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper.