Delicious Goo I Can Eat With A Spoon

March 16, 2025 6:32 AM

I go through phases of spoonable-dessert making - puddings, jellies, parfaits, etc. - and I'm looking for recipes or ideas.

To help guide things, here's a list of the ideal details, and a list of the things I already know about:

* I need something that can put up with hanging out in the fridge a couple days, or makes small batches. I would be doling anything out into about two or three smaller dishes and leaving them in the fridge, so I can reach for something a day or two later.
* I'm NOT looking for ice cream parfaits - think more like mousses, yogurt parfaits, or that kind of vibe.
* I know about chia pudding and tapioca pudding, but I'm not interested - chia is a little pricey and something about the tapioca texture is not for me.


I already know about these kinds of desserts, but if you have a specific recipe for one of these I'm still interested:

* cranachan
* mousse
* panna cotta
* pots de creme
* trifle
* Eton mess
* rice pudding
* bread pudding
* creme brulee

posted by EmpressCallipygos to Food & Drink (32 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh, and fruit fools I also already know about.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:33 AM on March 16

Authentic mousse au chocolate
Danish lemon fromage
It's not really the season for most fruit jellies, but i can get quinces, and they make a lovely jelly. I like adding spices, like chillies or pepper or cinnamon, or all of those combined.
Sometimes I run amok and just layer stuff, like a spicy quince jelly with a dark mousse au chocolate on top. You can turn it over onto a biscuit/cookie for a little pretty cake thing.
Actually, now I want to make desserts. Last time my grandsons were here, they complained that my dessert (oranges with cinnamon) was too healthy. Next time I will make something pretty. Remember the freezer -- a wild berry mousse with a wild berry jelly top on an almond crisp might just do the job...
posted by mumimor at 7:02 AM on March 16

Oh man I love kheer, the Indian kind of rice pudding. I love the golden raisins and nuts with the cinnamon and cardamom. I tend to leave out the coconut if I don’t already have it. This definitely stays good in the fridge for several days.
posted by little mouth at 7:45 AM on March 16

Variants on a Hawaiian coconut pudding called haupia.

I used to make this all the time as a vegan, gluten-free dessert for events.

The linked recipe creates a firmer pudding that can be cut into squares.

My old recipe made a more spoonable pudding - it was much more like this Serious Eats recipe except that I used rice milk or hemp milk instead of dairy milk.

But you can also totally change it up by melting dark chocolate into it (use the Serious Eats recipe, since the chocolate will make it stiffer anyway) or by using dark brown sugar and a bit of molasses.

In re fruit fools, though - maybe this is well known, but I always add a T of greek yogurt to the whipped cream, both to stabilize the cream and to add a tartness. If you don't do that, it's an option!
posted by Frowner at 8:01 AM on March 16 [5 favorites]

Lemon posset is delicious and can be served in the hollowed out lemon peel.
posted by EarnestDeer at 8:03 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]

I don't know if this is a thing but I'm hoping it is:

Pecan pie filling. Not the pie, just the gooey filling. My wife makes an amazing one that gels a bit and she puts a tiny splash of bourbon in and I dream about smearing it on... Well. Every other thing I eat I suppose. So ya. Hope that helps!
posted by chasles at 8:08 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]

My mother-in-law makes this lemon mousse sometimes and I could eat the entire batch at a go.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:29 AM on March 16

My southern friend makes Chess Pie which to me tasted like pecan pie without the pecans like chasles is describing. Might be different but I don't care, it's delicious.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:43 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]

I really love this oatmilk chocolate pudding. I find it mor decadent than a standard chocolate mousse and super fast to make.
posted by brookeb at 9:14 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Gentle re-direct -

My southern friend makes Chess Pie which to me tasted like pecan pie without the pecans like chasles is describing. Might be different but I don't care, it's delicious.

I'm not asking about pie, though. Chasles specified JUST the filling for a pie; a chess pie doesn't have the gooey bit so I couldn't separate that out, and so this doesn't count. Please do not give me pie recipes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:38 AM on March 16

I want to try this barley pudding. Same idea as rice pudding, but with barley instead.
posted by kathrynm at 9:51 AM on March 16

I’ve made and enjoyed this chocolate mousse-like dessert

Don’t be put off by the tofu, it is freakin’ delicious.
posted by sciencegeek at 10:57 AM on March 16

Have you made junket? I rather like it made with cream and blueberry jam swirled through it. Probably best made with light cream or cereal cream rather than whipping cream. The instructions should be included in the packet of rennet.

Have you made a red bean paste dessert?
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:03 AM on March 16

Flan? Flan. Eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla. Spoonable. Delectable.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:24 AM on March 16

I've had my eye on this coffee jelly with salted caramel whipped cream. You can google how to stabilize whipped cream to make it last.

Dick Taeuber's cordial pies are made with a boozy mousse. You can skip the crust, or just use the flavor variations (scroll to the bottom) as inspo for your go-to pudding base.

Also... a spoon full of buttercream out of the fridge is delicious. You can also eat it straight out the freezer. Add a little extra salt, it's like a freeform truffle.
posted by umwelt at 11:32 AM on March 16

Oh this cornmeal pudding is pretty fantastic. I can't remember if I've attempted to make it myself but I've had it a couple times when visiting Cape Cod and it's delicious.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:32 AM on March 16 [2 favorites]

I was just thinking - a lot of ordinary stovetop puddings can be dramatically improved/enriched by either using diluted cream instead of milk (has a creamier taste) or by replacing part of the milk with cream.

Also, if you're faced with a pudding emergency, you can make (family size box, adjust accordingly for smaller) instant pudding with perhaps 2T of the milk replaced with cream, a little vanilla extract and a tiny pinch of salt. (No more cream than that or it won't set.) Instant vanilla pudding jazzed up this way is really not bad if you're having the kind of day where you really can't face any kind of complexity.

I find that keeping a small container of cream around as a regular ingredient is a great way to enrich puddings, frostings, pasta sauces and some soups and curries. Plus of course you can put it in various drinks. Cream keeps fairly well, so as long as you use small amounts regularly, a little container doesn't go bad.
posted by Frowner at 12:03 PM on March 16

Also you're really not supposed to eat dulce de leche with a spoon, but I certainly do.
posted by restless_nomad at 12:13 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]

I made English trifle for a birthday recently. It's layers of cake soaked with sweet/cream sherry, custard, and jam. Top with whipped cream (and toasted nuts if you like). A little more substance than just the custard, but definitely spoonable. More sherry = more spoonable.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 1:14 PM on March 16

I suggest the dessert known as “Keto Fluff”. Google it and you will find a zillion variations.
It tastes like cheesecake mousse. It has just a few ingredients, comes together quickly, can be as fancy or plain as you like, you can make small batches.

The simple version is:

Ingredients
- 8 oz of cream cheese (low fat is fine)
- 10 oz heavy whipping cream
- pinch of salt
- granulated sweetener of your choice (liquids like honey, corn syrup, etc. are not recommended; artificial sweeteners work fine if that matters to you)
- Flavoring: entirely your choice, such as chopped fruit, vanilla extract, pistachio extract, etc.

How to Make
- Combine sweetener and softened cream cheese (and any flavoring extracts)
- Whip the cream very well (cold cream works best, you can put an empty bowl in the freezer for 10 mins before mixing)
- Combine the whipped cream and cream cheese (you can whip them together, if desired)
- Mix in the fruit if desired (or you could add as a topping)
- Chill for about 15-30 mins
- Eat and enjoy
posted by skye.dancer at 5:03 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]

If you can find a grocer selling fromage blanc or quark (German version), you only need to sprinkle a little brown sugar on top.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:36 PM on March 16

a chess pie doesn't have the gooey bit so I couldn't separate that out

Take away the crust, and a chess pie is all goo. It's just another type of baked custard.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:35 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

This recipe worked well for chocolate pot de creme (I like it sweeter so I used semi-sweet chocolate): Wednesday Night Cafe

I have strong opinions about flan and I've noticed a lot of texture differences across various countries. With a Filipino background, this is the one I've made that came out "right" - Martha Stewart
posted by brilliantine at 6:11 AM on March 17

Try an apricot syllabub? There are a ton of variations on this, using fresh or dried apricots, but this one uses jam and works fine.
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:36 PM on March 17

You might not vibe with Thai/Chinese/other East Asian desserts at all (many tend towards the tapioca in texture or ingredient) but you seem like the kind of person who might appreciate knowing about some of the relevant options so you can decide for yourself.

Some examples:
- Bua loy
- Black sesame ball pudding (sometimes with ginger tea, sometimes just in a sugary sauce, etc.)
- Grass jelly (there's a huge variety of jellies, including ones which skip the tapioca; I just picked one example)
- Red bean soup
- Steamed egg pudding (or custard)
- Mango pudding
- Tofu pudding (taho/dou hua, etc.)
posted by librarylis at 9:46 PM on March 17

Birds custard is easy to make one serving at a time, and is warm and spoonable
posted by Ftsqg at 6:53 AM on March 18

Take away the crust, and a chess pie is all goo. It's just another type of baked custard.

This also applies to pumpkin or squash pie.
posted by jgirl at 8:39 AM on March 18

cherry moos

mennonite dessert. the name means fruit soup, but is fairly thick so might fit the bill. My grandma always made plumma moos (made with plums, not cherries) but i can't find a recipe that looks like hers. This cherry one is similar
posted by domino at 9:18 AM on March 18

sweetened condensed milk (must be La Lechera brand) + yogurt + a leetle bit of lemon juice

Best with fruit, but still tasty on its own
posted by pickles_have_souls at 10:31 PM on March 18

If you like panna cotta you might like almond float, a Chinese dessert.

A basic recipe

A video of making it Hawaiian style

It’s basically cream or milk with almond flavoring jello with fresh fruit.
posted by LittleLadybug at 12:20 AM on March 19

Tofu pudding with ginger sauce is incredible. And apparently you can make it!
posted by kjs4 at 12:43 AM on March 19

Along the Indian sweets line, halwa is also delicious and reasonably easy if you're okay with carrots - this recipe is pretty easy. I usually just get mine from the nearest Indian sweet shop but you may not have one nearby.

If you care about things pretending to be reasonably healthy, Moosewood's pumpkin pie filling tastes decent, has glorious texture, and fridges well both cooked and uncooked (I've fridged the uncooked mix in a rinsed-out yogurt bucket for up to two weeks, but I am very blasé about 'how long was that in the fridge' - it still smelled and tasted and looked okay after that period).

I don't know if this is the actual original because the book is on the other side of the world, but it's the one I've been making from memory of that recipe for years: for every cup of cooked mashed pumpkin, beat in 1 egg, 1/2 cup of milk/evaporated milk/cream (doesn't actually matter which but plant-based milks seem to make it weird), 4 tbsp sugar or to taste, and 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I just use chai masala). I throw everything in a blender and run until smooth and that seems to work. You can bake it in ramekins if you have ramekins and an oven, or you can just microwave it (30 s intervals on medium until it stops wobbling when you tap the ramekin).

I've substituted purple kūmara with great success and beauregard kūmara (American sweet potatoes) with rather less success - I think it would be okay with less milk.
posted by ngaiotonga at 10:07 AM on March 19