The Sunday recipe: pudim passion – Liberation

Every weekend, we go to the kitchen with recipes for big and small days alike. This Sunday, we are concocting a Portuguese dessert recipe, a passion fruit flan.

On this long weekend, we are embarking on the preparation of a pudim (1), a Portuguese flan, with caramel but especially with passion fruit and tangerine zest. As it is better to start the recipe the day before (and up to three days in advance), enough talking and going to the kitchen.

For 6 people, you will need: 100 g of powdered sugar; five large passion fruits (90 g of pulp); 397 g canned condensed milk; 320 g of whole milk (semi-skimmed milk will not be suitable); 1 tbsp. finely grated mandarin zest; 1/2 tsp. teaspoon chili flakes (optional, less if you prefer); two large eggs + one egg yolk; 1 tbsp. vanilla paste; 1 pinch of fine salt.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (without convection). Prepare a 20 cm round oven dish or a mold without a removable bottom, otherwise your caramel may leak.

In a nonstick skillet, sprinkle the sugar evenly and place over medium heat. Cook 5-6 mins, swirling the pan as the sugar begins to melt. Continue cooking until the sugar melts and changes from light amber to dark amber. Watch the pan carefully, you must remove it from the heat as soon as it takes on a darker amber hue, otherwise the caramel could burn easily. Pour the caramel into your dish or mold and swirl it between your hands to evenly coat the bottom. Set aside while you prepare the custard.

Put the passion fruit pulp in a mixing bowl with the condensed milk, whole milk, mandarin zest, chilli flakes, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and salt. Whisk gently until everything is well blended. Do not whisk too vigorously, avoid creating air bubbles. Tap the caramel to make sure it has hardened. Place the pudim dish in a large baking dish. Pour the custard through a sieve into the pudim dish, then discard the solid residue.

Place the baking dish in the center of the oven. Pour hot (not boiling) water into the large dish halfway up the sides of the pudim dish. Bake 45 min., until top is set but still bubbly. Remove the baking dish from the oven and allow to cool for an hour before removing it from the water bath and refrigerating it overnight.

Take the pudim out of the fridge 10 minutes before serving. Run a knife around the edges to unmold. Place a large deep dish on top of the pan, then flip quickly. Carefully lift the pan, the pudim should have come loose on the dish, but if not, give the top and sides of the pan a good bang. Cut into slices and serve.

(1) Recipe taken from Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage, ed. Hachette Kitchen, 2023, €35.