CookEat Recipe
Pudding Cesarino
A warm caramel-coated bread pudding with raisins, sultanas, Marsala and rum, cooked slowly in a water bath.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 200 g soft crustless white bread; 350 g caster sugar: 250 g for the pudding and about 100 g for the mould; 125 g large Malaga raisins, seeds removed; 125 g sultanas; 500 ml whole milk; 22.5 ml Marsala and 22.5 ml rum for the pudding, 3 tablespoons in total; 5 eggs, separated; 10 g fresh butter for the mould; 60 ml additional rum for the warm, non-ignited serving finish.
Step 2
Cut the soft bread into thin slices and put them in the milk to soak thoroughly. Retain the soaking milk; do not squeeze out the bread. Clean the dried grapes and remove any seeds from the Malaga raisins.
Step 3
Melt the 100 g mould sugar in a heavy saucepan until hazelnut-brown. Carefully coat the entire inside of a heatproof pudding mould of about 2 litres, including its sides, with this caramel. Let it cool and harden completely, then lightly grease the cooled caramel coating with the butter.
Step 4
Mix the soaked bread and milk with the 250 g pudding sugar, five yolks, Marsala and the 22.5 ml batter rum. Whisk the five whites to firm peaks. Fold in the dried grapes and whipped whites last, keeping the mixture airy, then transfer to the prepared mould.
Step 5
Stand the mould on a trivet in a deep covered saucepan. Add hot water to about two-thirds of the mould height, keeping it below the rim. Cover the mould with a secured lid or foil so condensation cannot drip in, and simmer the surrounding water gently for 2 hours, adding hot water as needed. For the last hour, remove the mould cover, carefully transfer it to a roasting tin with hot water halfway up its sides and bake at 160°C. This modern two-stage water bath preserves the full 3-hour cooking and applies oven heat above only for the final hour. The centre must reach at least 74°C and be set.
Step 6
Rest about 10 minutes, loosen the edge and unmould onto a rimmed heatproof serving plate. Warm the separate 60 ml rum gently in a small saucepan, remove from the heat and spoon over the pudding without igniting it. Serve warm in 10–12 portions. This replaces the original flaming rum-and-spirit presentation; it is not alcohol-free. Cool leftovers promptly, refrigerate at 4°C or colder within 2 hours and use within 2–3 days.
Cooked it? Rate it.
Cooked 0 times