Egg pudding is a classic Portuguese dessert, a mainstay in pretty much every middle / working class Portuguese Restaurant. It is also found in a lot of homes for special occasions. In fact, every time this dessert makes an appearance is a special occasion in and of itself.
This particular recipe was handed down to me by my mom, and it just sweet enough but also feels fresh (courtesy) of the citrus flavor with help to lighten the richness of the eggs. It contains very few ingredients (5!) that you will probably have lying around the house at any point in time.
Tips and tricks
- Use a ring shaped baking tin (baking tin with a hole in the middle) if at all possible. I can’t promise it will work without it but it might.
- To save some time and headache get some premade caramelized sugar. It should contain two ingredients only: sugar and water. If it contains anything else, it’s not what you want. Any local Portuguese / Spanish store will have it. If you want o makeit yourselves, then follow one of the many available instructions only, for instance this one written in English, or this video in Portuguese.
- The main trick is to find the right stove setting for the water bath. Too high and it will look like an omelet, too low and it will take double the time to cook. In doubt start with a lower setting and adjust after the first 45 minutes if needed.
- Very important is to get a very good lemon and orange otherwise the flavor will be a bit flat. That said, you can use juice from the pack in a pinch.
- Replacing orange juice with kumquat juice works beautifully.
- This pudding is similar to a Flan, but better.
Source
Me mum.
- Servings: 8
- Prep Time: 20-30 mins
- Cooking Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 65-75 mins
Ingredients
Pudding
- Sugar: 200 grams
- Eggs: 6
- Milk: 500 ml (warm but not boiling)
- Lemon zest from 1 lemon
- Orange juice: 1 table spoon
Caramelized sugar (optional)
- Sugar: 150 grams
- Water: 150 ml
Directions
Pudding
- With an hand mixer (or KitchenAid), mix the eggs with the sugar, lemon zest and orange juice. Keep mixing and slowly drip the warm milk.
- Spread the caramel all over the inside of the baking it to coat it generously. Having extra caramel on the bottom is not a problem, in fact you want that. Pour the egg mixture in the tin, put the lid on top and cook in a water bath (covering 3/4 of the backing tin) at medium low temperature (4/10 on my induction stove) for 45 min.
- Check if is cooked by sticking a spaghetti or a toothpick pick in the pudding. If it isn’t just cook longer in intervals of 15-30 min to avoid overcooking.
- Let it cool in the fridge for a few hours before flipping over plate. You might need to bang (gently) the tin a few times before it comes out.
- Enjoy!
Caramelized sugar
- In the pudding baking tin add the sugar and water, and turn up the heating to boil it.
- When it starts getting some color, mix with a spoon and let it boil gently until it has a dark brown caramel color (not too dark otherwise it will burn). Take it out of the heat and put aside.