RECIPE - Pudim

As we mentioned in yesterday's post on Flavors of Brazil, the well-loved Brazilian dessert called pudim has many, many variations and there is no unique, true recipe for this dish. Every home cook makes pudim in their own manner, often just their way their mother made it. And that mother learned how to make pudim from her mother and on and on up the generations.

This recipe is, however, can make a claim to being close to the ur-recipe for Brazilian pudim. It's simplicity itself and the list of ingredients includes only those elements that are absolutely necessary for a successful pudim - no extra flavorings or fancy treatments here. It includes sweetened condensed milk which adds a flavor much prized by Brazilians and which became a pudim ingredients in the days before electrical refrigeration, when canning milk was the only way to keep it from spoiling in Brazil's tropical heat. Now, of course, refrigeration is common and there's really no necessity to included condensed milk, but Brazilians have come to love the flavor it imparts to pudim and so continue to use it.
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RECIPE - Pudim

3 whole eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 measure whole milk, equal to can of condensed milk
3 Tbsp granulated white sugar
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Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Bring about 2 cups of water to the boil in a kettle and keep hot.

Caramelize the sugar (click here for instructions) and use it to line the bottom of a mold or tube-style cake pan.

Combine eggs, condensed milk and whole milk in a blender and blend at medium speed for three minutes.

Pour the combined milk and eggs into the mold or cake pan. Place the pan  in a casserole or lasagne pan, heat the water in the kettle to boiling and pour the water into the pan about 2 inches deep.

Carefully put the casserole in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the custard comes out clean.

Remove from heat, cool the custard on a wire rack and when completely cool, refrigerate for at least three hours.

When ready to serve, unmold the custard onto a deep serving platter or plate and serve immediately.