Once thickened, remove the pot from the heat and immediately stir in the butter. Once it's melted in, stir in the vanilla extract. Now run the pudding through a fine mesh sieve with a rubber spatula to remove any lumps and to get the smoothest pudding.

At this point, either keep it in the bowl you strained it into or separate it into individual serving cups. Either way, you're going to cover the pudding with plastic wrap. You want to press the plastic wrap lightly onto the surface of the pudding, to prevent a skin from forming.

Let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Then eat it plain or top with some yummy toppings (pictured here with chocolate curls and banana slices). It'll last up to 3 days in the fridge.