Why are We Eating This?

I picked up a box of Duncan Hines "Signature Desserts" Boston Cream Pie for after Sunday dinner. I've been running around a lot and working a ton and just wanted something quick, easy and decadent.

You make the cake and split it in half after it's cooled. Then, you mix the "creamy filling" mix, spread it on the cake, put the layers together, and drizzle the chocolate glaze on top. Pretty easy.

Note I didn't say "custard filling." If I said custard you would assume the ingrediants would include some form of eggs, milk, and sugar. Or that the giant box would have a tin of Bird's Custard inside.

Imagine my suprise when, after allowing the "creamy filling" to rest for the alloted five minutes (and three more), I returned to find it not creamy but almost like styrofoam. I'd mixed a cup of 1% milk with a white powder. At first it had the consistency of cake mix. So how could it have turned to a plasticene blob in just 8 minutes?

Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate and Disodium Phosphate. Listed after sugar, dextrose, and modified cornstarch.

So what the heck ARE Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate and Disodium Phosphate? Well, you find disodium phosphate in water softeners, enamelers and detergents. Oh, and instant pudding. When used in pudding it's a stabilizer. But don't overlook that disodium phosphate is also found in lots of household items, like...Head and Shoulders. And tetrasodium pyrophosphate is a buffer and thickening agent, but also used in toothpaste as a tartar control agent.

Yum. Okay. Now I wish I'd just had a pear.