When it comes to puddings, SAM WOULIDGE
knows only one language - her mother's tongue
I like puddings. I particularly like
traditional Afrikaans puddings. For while my heart may be evenly divided into
two (English father, Afrikaans mother), when it comes to puddings, I don't
believe the English stand a chance. For me, malvapoeding will always trump
sticky toffee pudding. Syrupy souskluitjies will always be preferable to
spotted dick. Bread-and-butter pudding is comforting and apple crumble is nice,
but they're no match for sweet cinnamon-infused melkkos. But, most importantly,
the English don't have buttermilk pudding. And the Afrikaners do. Battle won.
Buttermilk pudding, or karringmelk pudding,
if it is to be referred to by its cultural name, is the pudding I grew up with.
It's a subtle dairy-based pudding that's lighter and less sweet than the usual
baked puddings served around tables where Afrikaans is spoken. But that is
rectified by the addition of various syrups or fruit preserves. It is a pudding
that rises to a golden puff, but soon deflates with a sad sigh if not given
immediate attention and adoration. As a child, I adorned it with Golden Syrup
and vanilla ice-cream. The heat of the pudding melted the ice-cream and I loved
how the temperatures and flavors - cold, hot, sweet, slightly tart - felt and
tasted.
The
Proof Of The Pudding
It is also the first pudding I learned to
make as a newlywed. While my cooking skills were rudimentary, I knew I could
always make a buttermilk pudding and with the voice of my mother ringing in my
ear, "Sif hoog, suster, sifhoog" (Sift high, sister), I would
recreate the dessert of my childhood.
I believe that karringmelk pudding should
be celebrated. One rainy Sunday afternoon, I invited a few Afrikaans friends;
creative, talented, well-adapted-to-the-city-types, to witness the pudding
coming out of the oven at 5 pm. At the appointed hour A fire burned and on the
dining room table were candles in colored Murano bowls, treasured crystal
glasses and small vintage goblets of chilled dessert wine. The fragrance of
baking permeated the air. The pudding came out of the oven, fluffy and golden
and I knew she would behave beautifully fore minute or two before she tired of
the fussing and sulkily slipped back into the dish. I had, of course, put
Golden Syrup on the table, but because we were all grown up and apparently
sophisticated, I'd made a rooibos-and-clementine syrup too. And so amid the
laughter, creative energy and happy conversation on that cold Sunday afternoon,
we ate karringmelk pudding and were sustained by the reminder of our roots.
Buttermilk Pudding with
Rooibos-and-Clemengold Syrup
I found this recipe in a fabulous book
called Aan Tafel met Nettie Pikeur by Madelein Roux. It comes from the chapter
titled 'Mans is Mai oorPoeding' (Men are crazy about pudding). I have two
treasured copies of this book as one was given to me by my mother and the other
by my mother-in-law. Great minds thinking alike and all that... The syrup is my
version of Phillippa Cheifitz's recipe from her beautiful book South Africa
Eats.
Buttermilk
Pudding with Rooibos-and-Clemengold Syrup
Serves 6
Preparation: 20 minutes
Baking: 45 minutes
·
Butter 2 T, softened, plus extra for greasing
·
Sugar 150g
·
Free-range eggs 3, separated
·
Self-rising flour 150 g, sifted
·
Salt a pinch
·
Buttermilk 2 cups
For the rooibos-and-ClemenGold syrup:
·
ClemenGolds or naartjies 2 sugar 200 g
·
Rooibos tea 2 cups (I like to make mine strong)
·
Cinnamon 1 stick
·
Star anise 2
·
Honey 2T
·
Lemon juice 2T
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the
softened butter and sugar well. Beat the egg yolks and add to the butter and
sugar mixture, then add the flour and salt.
- Add the buttermilk and mix well.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks
form, and then fold into the batter. Pour into a greased ovenproof dish
and bake for 45 minutes. Serve with the rooibos-and-ClemenGold syrup.
- To make the syrup, peel the ClemenGolds
and scrape the pith from the peel (set aside the segments for later use).
Boil the peel, sugar, rooibos tea, cinnamon and star anise for 15 to 20
minutes. Add the honey and lemon juice and simmer for a further 5 to 10
minutes. Remove from the heat and add the reserved ClemenGold segments.
Allow to cool, then strain the mixture to remove the segments, peel and
spices and refrigerate. (Don't throw the ClemenGold segments away as
you'll want to eat the syrup-infused half-moons to reward yourself for
your fervent domesticity.)
Fat-conscious
Wine: Badsberg Red Muscadel 2011
