Dreamy Creamy Almond Pudding

Last week I discovered the fabulous Halal butcher/foodstuffs shop in my neighbourhood moved away. For other Brnáks reading this - they are now on Vídeňská street...number 37 I think. Corner of Vojtova.

While it was definitely great having them nearby (for that Easter leg of lamb, especially) the new location is fairly central, so I stopped by last week. The dry goods are more prominently displayed here, so not even in my usual rushing-to-class mode could I possibly miss the bottle of rosewater.

It had to come with me.

Just a smidge of rosewater to any honey or almond based dessert is absolute heaven. I even remember a restaurant where the drinking water was flavoured with just a hint of the stuff.

Don't be scared off, thinking 'well, I'm certainly not the flowery-food type.' There is nothing more summery than a gentle barely-there hint of rose in your dessert.

Seeing that I had some milk about to go off, pudding was in order. I admit that I made the mistake of not wanting to run to the store, so I just threw some almonds in the food processor to get the 'ground almond' effect. Next time I'll definitely get the right stuff. Powder-fine ground almonds would make the pudding extra smooth. But if you dig texture, the DIY approach would do you just fine.

The result is a not-overly-sweet pudding that is full of protein. I suggest any decadent meal end with this almond pudding for a tasty finish devoid of any guilt that a dessert can tend to instill.

And if you are in Brno, get yourself to the fabulous Halal Maso!

Continue to Recipe...

Recipe: Almond Pudding with Rosewater

Serves 4 (or 2 biggies)

Time 30 minutes

Adapted from World Kitchen Morocco

1 2/3 cups (400 ml) milk

1/2 cups (100 ml) cream

4 Tb vanilla sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 Tb cornstarch

1 1/2 Tb tapioca flour

2/3 cup (70g) ground almonds

1 tsp rosewater

2 Tb almonds, slivered or just coarsely chopped

1 tsp sugar

1) In a saucepan, heat the milk, cream,sugar, and cinnamon together just before it boils. In the meantime, in a medium bowl mix the cornstarch and tapioca flour with 3 Tb of water. When the sugar has dissolved in the milk, leave the stove on, but pour the milk contents into the starch-water bowl and whisk quickly together. Now pour back into the pan and keep on low heat until it thickens.

2) Whisk in the ground almonds and rosewater. Take off heat (when thickened) and let cool 10 minutes before pouring into 2 - 4 dishes. Place plastic wrap gently over top so it touches the surface of the pudding cups (this will prevent the skin from forming.) Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3) To serve, top with sugared almonds:  Toast the almonds in a dry pan on the stovetop for a few minutes, until golden and fragrant. Toss them into a little dish and coat with the sugar when they are still warm. The sugar should stick to them a bit this way.

Dobrou Chut'/ Enjoy.
-- Jo