Brazilian Pudding

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-cup (1.4-liter) seamless metal charlotte or pudding mould
• •2-quart (1.9-liter) heavy saucepan
• •Deep roasting pan large enough to hold the mould
• •Instant-read or sugar thermometer
• •Electric hand mixer or balloon whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the tapioca

   Combine the tapioca with 1 cup (240 ml) of the measured milk in a heavy saucepan and leave it for 30 minutes. The soak gives every pearl a head start, so the centres soften before the surrounding milk grows too thick. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C), set a deep roasting pan inside, and bring the bain-marie water to a boil.

2. 2

   Clothe the mould

   Have ready the caramel from The Cooking of Sugar (No. 2344), removed from the heat at old gold. Pour it immediately into a clean, dry 6-cup metal mould, then tilt and turn the mould away from your body until the base and sides wear a thin, even coat. This is chemiser, the clothing principle described in Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916); the aspic kitchen's broken ice is unnecessary because caramel sets against room-temperature metal. If the caramel crystallizes before colouring, return to its own formula and remake it. If it has gone mahogany and smells acrid, discard it and begin again. Burnt sugar itself cannot be rescued.

   Caramel causes severe burns. Use a dry cloth to hold the mould, keep water away from the hot sugar, and never test it with your fingers.
3. 3

   Cook the pearls

   Add the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) milk, the vanilla pod, and its seeds to the soaked tapioca. Bring it slowly to a bare simmer, then cook for 18 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently across the entire pan floor, until almost every pearl is translucent and the milk has thickened but still falls easily from the spoon. If the milk catches, don't scrape the scorched layer. Ça se rattrape: pour the unburnt pudding into a clean saucepan and finish it over gentler heat.

4. 4

   Finish the pudding

   Remove the vanilla pod. Stir the sugar and butter into the hot tapioca until both disappear, then let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes, until warm rather than fiercely hot. Whisk the yolks in a bowl, beat in a ladleful of tapioca to temper them, and return everything to the saucepan. Beat the whites to soft peaks, loosen the tapioca with one-third of them, then fold in the remainder with broad, gentle strokes. Soft peaks give lift without leaving dry clumps in the finished pudding.

5. 5

   Poach it gently

   Spoon the mixture into the caramel-clothed mould and tap it once against a folded towel to release large air pockets. Cover loosely with foil and set it in the hot roasting pan. Pour boiling water around the mould until it reaches halfway up the sides, then bake in the bain-marie for 50 to 60 minutes. It is ready when the edges are firm, the centre trembles as one body, and an instant-read thermometer reaches 175 to 180°F (79 to 82°C). If the water begins bubbling hard, add a little cool water and lower the oven heat; boiling water makes an egg pudding coarse.

6. 6

   Cool and chill

   Lift the mould from the bain-marie and leave it on a rack for 45 to 60 minutes, no longer. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. The tapioca finishes absorbing the custard as it rests, while the firm caramel slowly loosens into an amber sauce.

7. 7

   Turn it out

   Run a thin knife around the upper rim without cutting into the pudding. Dip the bottom of the mould in hot water for 8 to 10 seconds, place a shallow serving platter over it, and invert in one confident movement. If it clings, hold a hot cloth against the mould for another few seconds and try again. Spoon the pooled caramel over the top and serve plain, exactly as intended. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy small pearl tapioca, not instant tapioca granules and not the large pearls meant for drinks. Small pearls soften evenly in milk and leave the delicate beaded texture this pudding requires.
• •Use a pale stainless-steel saucepan for caramel so you can see the colour honestly. Pull it at old gold and pour at once; residual heat keeps darkening the sugar after the pan leaves the fire.
• •Serve the pudding plain. The caramel that liquefies around it is already the sauce, and cream, fruit, or a decorative garnish would cover the contrast between bitter-edged caramel and sweet vanilla tapioca.
• •Keep the pudding covered and cold until service. It holds well for two days, though the caramel sauce becomes progressively thinner as it rests.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the complete pudding the day before the dinner and chill it in its mould overnight. The longer rest gives the tapioca an even set and turns more of the caramel coating into sauce.
• •Keep it covered in the mould until shortly before serving, then unmould it directly onto a rimmed platter that can contain the caramel.
• •Do not freeze the pudding. Freezing damages the custard's texture and makes the tapioca release water as it thaws.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)