They say proof of the pudding is in the eating. Take the adage seriously and sample these recipes.
Pineapple Pudding
Ingredients
Pineapple fresh or tinned with syrup - 1, sliced into small chunks
Jelly powder (pineapple flavour) - 1 packet
Sweetened condensed milk - 400 ml
Cream - equal quantity
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Method
Dissolve jelly crystals in one cup boiling water. Add a cup of cold water. Freeze for one or two hours.
In the mixer, blend the sweetened condensed milk, cream, pineapple jelly, pineapple syrup and a few pineapple chunks till smooth. Add the set jelly and process in two batches till smooth and glossy. Pour into a pudding bowl.
Stir in the sweet, ripe pineapple chunks (bite-sized). Freeze for an hour and then shift to the lower rack to refrigerate till serving. Spoon into serving bowls.
Decorate with caramelised cashews. To caramelise cashews, in a pan, heat sugar to a golden honey-tinged colour. Immediately, add chopped cashew nuts. Pour onto a pre-buttered platter. Leave to cool. Break into small pieces. And garnish with glace cherries.
Floating Island
Ingredients
Raspberry or Strawberry Jelly - 1 packet
Eggs - 3, separated
Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1-1/2 cups, or as per taste (or artificial sweetener for diabetics)
Custard powder - 1 -1/2 tbsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts - 20, crushed
Sugar - 2 tbsp, to caramelise the cashew nuts
Glace cherries - To garnish.
Method
Take a glass, (transparent) pudding bowl. Prepare the raspberry jelly (to do so, dissolve a packet of jelly powder in one cup of boiling water. Add two tbsp sugar. Pour in a cup of cold water. Stir well.) Chill for four to five hours, until set. Beat the egg whites until stiff and frothy. (There should be no moisture while doing so.) Bring the milk to a boil in a pan. Lower the flame.
Using a dry small milk ladle/ soup spoon or a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the egg whites little by little and put in the simmering milk. (Keep the flame on low.)
The egg white ‘islands' will expand and ‘float'. In a few seconds it will be ready. Remove, drain and keep the cooked meringues separately, on a big plate.
Let the milk cool down. In the cooled leftover milk, in the same pan, add beaten yolks and sugar. Dissolve the custard powder in one- fourth cup cool milk and stir in. Once it is slightly thick, the custard is ready.
Take out the jelly bowl from the fridge. Space the meringues on the top of the jelly, like islands. Spoon in the custard in between and fill the bowl. Do not pour over the meringues. Refrigerate (do not freeze) for three to four hours until just before serving. Serve chilled.
To caramelise the nuts: Melt the sugar until honey coloured in a pan. Tip in the broken cashews. Stir well and pour into a greased plate. Crush.
Sprinkle over the meringues as garnish, immediately before serving. Decorate with glace cherries on each ‘island' meringue.
