Better baking in an instant

Though it was introduced in 1918 by My-T-Fine, it wasn't until years later, after Jello came out with its own version, that such a product attracted the attention of cooks. Thus it was, in the '50s, in response to one of the most irritating television commercials ever produced ("Busy day, busy day, busy day") that my mom tried instant pudding for the first time. It would also be her last. She didn't think the pudding tasted natural, and its artificial taste was not worth the convenience it provided. After all, it doesn't take that long to make pudding from scratch. To this day, I've never been a fan of the instant stuff.

But recently I got to wondering if I should reconsider. It all started a couple of years ago when my granddaughter came home from a trip to New York impressed with the banana pudding served at the Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan. So I thought I'd try to duplicate it for her and looked for the recipe. It was not difficult to find — right in the bakery's beautiful cookbook. When I saw it, I couldn't believe that it calls for instant pudding mix. I made a batch, which turned out to be wonderful, and theorized that the bakery can get away with using instant pudding because it engulfs it in three cups of cream (that's six cups whipped) so nobody really notices.

A slice of Pistachio Cake, made dense, moist, and delicious by the addition of instant pudding mix right out of the box.Submitted by Tom Harte

A slice of Pistachio Cake, made dense, moist, and delicious by the addition of instant pudding mix right out of the box.Submitted by Tom Harte

But then I happened to run across an online article from Bon Appetit in which a pastry cook revealed that she has for some time been using instant pudding in a variety of dessert preparations ranging from tiramisu to pastry cream. And she was proud of the fact.

Finally just last January The New York Times published a story that, had it aired on a cable news network, would have had the words "breaking news" plastered all over it. The newspaper's intrepid reporters revealed that the secret ingredient to chef Joshua Pinsky's pistachio cake served at his French-inspired restaurant in New York, what some say is the best dessert in town, is instant pudding mix.

Chef Pinsky finds that adding the dry mix right out of the box to baked goods can make the difference between an ordinary dessert and an extraordinary one. That's because instant pudding mix contains modified cornstarch which makes baked goods more dense, moist and delicious. Some home cooks have known this for years, but now professional chefs are also catching on.

So make your own pudding from scratch. Despite its name, instant pudding mix will only produce something marginally adequate. Instead do what in the know chefs around the country are doing. Add instant pudding mix right out of the box to your favorite baked goods to enhance your baking — well, instantly.

Previously scorned by some purists, instant pudding mix has become a go-to ingredient for many professional chefs.Submitted by Tom Harte

Previously scorned by some purists, instant pudding mix has become a go-to ingredient for many professional chefs.Submitted by Tom Harte

Pistachio Bundt Cake

This recipe, adapted from The New York Times, may change your mind about the virtues of instant pudding mix, formerly the secret ingredient of professional chefs but now revealed to all.

Cake:

• 2-3/4 cups flour
• 3.4 ounce package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 9 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup shelled pistachios, chopped

Whisk together flour, pudding mix and baking powder. Whisk together milk, yogurt and vanilla until smooth. Beat egg whites and salt until frothy, add sugar and beat to firm peaks. Add flour mixture and oil and mix until smooth. Mix in milk mixture and stir in pistachios. Pour into 12 cup Bundt pan coated with cooking spray, tap pan on counter to remove air pockets and bake at 350 degrees 60-75 minutes until browned and cake tests clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely.

Whipped Ricotta

• 1-1/3 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Pinch salt

In food processor combine ricotta, cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, olive oil and salt until smooth. Refrigerate

Glaze

• 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Whisk together powdered sugar and lime juice until thick but pourable.

Drizzle glaze over cake, sprinkle with pistachios, serve with whipped ricotta.