A word of warning about combining eggs with any hot mixture: add a little of the hot liquid to the beaten eggs and then return the eggs to the pan. When eggs arc added directly to a hot mixture, they begin to cook at once, and curdling is the inevitable result.
A baked pudding is more often than not accompanied by a sauce. You will find directions for making the appropriate sauces after the pudding recipes.
Crème Sainte-Cécile aux Fruits
Scald 3 cups milk with a piece of vanilla bean and let the mixture steep for 15 minutes. Mix together 4 whole eggs and 4 yolks, add ½ cup sugar, and work all together well. Remove the vanilla beau from the milk and add 3 tablespoons finely crushed almond praline. Stir the milk slowly into the egg mixture and pour this custard into a well buttered ring mold. Set the mold in a shallow pan of hot but not boiling water and bake it in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) about 45 minutes, or until the custard is set. Add a little cold water occasionally to keep the water below the boiling point. The custard is done when a small pointed knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let the custard stand until it is lukewarm.
In the meantime, prepare a macédoine of mixed cooked fruit cut in dice or slices, using any desired combination-pears, pineapple, peaches, cherries, oranges, and so on. Drain the juice from the fruit. To each cup of juice, add 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot . mixed with 2 tablespoons cold juice, and cook the juice until it thickens slightly. For each cup of fruit add 1 tablespoon kitsch, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier and 2 tablespoons pureed stewed dried apricots and a little of the thickened fruit juice. Keep the fruit warm. Invert the custard ring on the serving dish and unmold it. Fill the center of the ring with fruit and pour the remaining juice around the ring. Pour a little heated Kirsch, rum, or Cognac over the fruit and ignite it.
Almond Praline
Mix equal quantities of blanched almonds and sugar, and heat the mixture in a heavy skillet until it is well caramelized, stirring to brown it evenly. Add a few drops vanilla extract. Cool the praline on a heatproof platter until it hardens. Crush the praline to a powder by chopping it and pounding it with a heavy rolling pin.
Pouding an Chocolat
In a warm bowl work ¼ cup butter with a wooden spoon until it is creamy. Add ½ cup powdered sugar and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or a few seeds scraped from a split vanilla bean and continue to cream the mixture until it is fluffy. Work in 6 egg yolks, one at a time. Melt ¼ pound bitter chocolate over hot water and add it to the creamed mixture with 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch. Fold in 5 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter and flour a 1 ½-quart round or oblong mold and fill it with the pudding mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 45 minutes. Let the pudding stand for 10 or 15 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Serve warm with chocolate cream sauce.
Ponding à la Semoule (Farina Pudding)
Combine in a saucepan 1 quart milk, ½ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, a piece of vanilla bean, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and sprinkle in slowly I cup farina, stirring constantly. Cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring from time to time. Turn the mixture into a bowl and remove the vanilla bean. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 6 egg yolks, well beaten. Fold in 4 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter a cylindrical mold or a mold with a tube in the center and sprinkle the mold with a little farina, fill it with the pudding, set it in a pan of boiling water, and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the pudding stand for 10 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Serve with fruit sauce or sauce sabayon.
Gâteau de Riz an Caramel (Rice Mold with Caramel)
Wash 2/3 cup rice in several changes of cold water and pur it into a saucepan With 3 Clips cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the rice for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain the rice and put it in a deep baking dish. Scald 2 cups milk with a piece of vanilla bean, remove the bean, and pour the milk over the rice. Cover the dish tightly and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for ½ hour. Do not stir the rice.
Cream 2 tablespoons butter with ½ cup sugar and add 3 beaten egg yolks. Add the Cooked rice and milk, tossing the mixture well with a fork. Coat the bottom and sides of a straight mold with caramel syrup (page 70) and fill it with the rice mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot but not boiling water and bake the pudding in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) for 30 to 40 minutes. Add a little cold water as needed to keep the water in the pan below the boiling point. Let the pudding stand for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Pour a little caramel syrup around the pudding and serve it warm.
Rice Santa Clara
Wash 1 cup rice in several changes of cold water and put it into a saucepan with 1 quart water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes. Drain the rice in a sieve and rinse it with cold water. Scald 2 ½ cups milk and add the precooked rice, 6 tablespoons sugar. ¼ teaspoon salt, and a piece of vanilla bean. Bring the mixture to a boil, add 1 tablespoon butter, cover the pan, and simmer the pudding gently for ½ hour or cook it in the top of a double boiler for 45 minutes, until the rice is tender. Toss the rice with a fork to separate the grains and add 4 slightly beaten egg yolks. Butter and sugar a ring mold and fill it with the rice mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and bake the pudding in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) for 40 to 45 minutes. Add a little cold water as necessary to keep the water in the pan below the boiling point. Let the pudding stand for 8 to 10 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish.
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