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| Creamy, nutty, a little chewy--a luscious pudding to celebrate Carnaval. |
Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday,” is the finale of a month leading up to the beginning of Lent. In Spain, Carnaval begins weeks before with festivities that vary from one region to another. Using up porky foods is part of the tradition. Out with the sausages! Gobble all the fatty ham and lard before the abstinence of Lent! Eating and carousing are everywhere a big part of Carnaval.
This Cuajada de Carnaval, a very traditional pudding from Granada, is an indulgence any time of the year, but is special for Carnaval. Traditionally, it utilizes mantecados and polvorones, lard-based cookies leftover from Christmas, to form the base of the pudding. “Angel’s hair” confiture, pastry cream, and ladyfingers are layered on the base, somewhat like a trifle.
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| The pudding, called cuajada, has layers of pastry cream between sweet ladyfingers, crunchy almonds, and a sugary topping. |
Granada Pudding for Carnival
Cuajada de Carnaval Granadina
The pudding needs at least 8 hours in the fridge to “cuajar,” or set, so prepare it a day before serving.
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| Pomegranate emblem. |
The pudding is basically an assembly job. Only the pastry cream needs to be prepared in advance. The pudding is usually assembled in a large ceramic bowl. If the bowl has a pomegranate, the emblem of Granada, so much the better. If you want to be absolutely authentic, you will need a cut-out pattern of a stylized pomegranate for sifting sugar on the top of the pudding. I used a 10x3-inch bowl. The pudding may also be divided between 8 individual bowls.
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| Cookie crumbs are layered with cream, ladyfingers |
Serves 8.
Components and substitutions:
Pastry cream
Mantecados/ polvorones or crumb crust
Angel’s hair conserve (cabello de angel) or fruit jam
Ladyfingers (bizcochos de soletilla) or sponge cake
Chopped almonds
Confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon
Pastry Cream
Crema Pastelera
Make the pastry cream before assembling the pudding. It can be made a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. Bring to room temperature and whisk the cream smooth before using.
The pastry cream is traditionally flavored by infusing the milk with lemon peel and cinnamon. Alternatives are vanilla or, in honor of Valentine’s Day, which, coincidentally, is today, Februrary 14, melted chocolate.
I tried a microwave recipe for the pastry cream. It works just fine, but, timing will vary depending on the power of the microwave unit. If you prefer, cook the cream on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup cornstarch
¼ cup (or more) sugar
3 eggs
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Use an immersion blender to blend them until smooth. Microwave on High (800W) for 3 minutes. Remove and stir the mixture. Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Stir again. Microwave 1 minute and stir. If cream is not completely thickened, return to microwave for 30 seconds. (If your microwave is more powerful, reduce timing to 3 minutes + 2 minutes.)
Use the immersion blender to blend the cream so that it is completely smooth. Cover the surface with plastic wrap. If not using immediately, refrigerate the cream. Bring to room temperature and whisk it smooth before assembling the pudding.
To assemble the pudding
1. Prepare the crumb base:
Mantecados and polvorones are crumbly cookies made with lard. They usually contain ground almonds, sometimes sesame seed. If not available, use your favorite crumb crust, baked or unbaked. (No-Bake Crumb Crust; Almond Crumb Crust; Recipes for mantecados: Cinnamon-Lard Christmas Cookies; Crumbly Olive Oil Mantecados)
12 ounces mantecados and/or polvorones (about 8 cookies)
Milk or water, if needed
Crush or grind the mantecados. Set aside ¼ of the crumbs for the topping. Spread the remaining crumbs in the pudding bowl and press them firmly on the bottom and partially up the sides of the bowl. If crumbs aren’t easily compacted, moisten them first with a few drops of milk or water. (If you are substituting a baked crumb crust, use a baking dish or oven-safe ceramic vessel for the pudding.)
2. Angel’s Hair Confiture
Angel’s hair conserve is the candied strands of cidra, a type of gourd. Called cabello de angel in Spanish, it can be purchased in cans. If not available, use any fruit jam. Apricot or orange marmalade are especially appropriate for this pudding. (More about angel's hair confiture and how to make it here.)
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| Spread angel's hair. |
½ cup angel’s hair or jam
Water if needed to thin
If the conserve or jam seems too thick to spread, add a few drops of water and heat on medium in the microwave. Using the back of a spoon, spread the angel’s hair over the base of crushed cookies in the bowl.
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| First layer pastry cream. |
3. Pastry cream
Spread half of the (room-temperature) pastry cream over the layer of angel’s hair conserve.
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| Ladyfingers make a cakey layer in the middle. |
Called bizcochos de soletilla in Spanish, the (store-bought) ladyfingers make a layer in the center of the pudding. A 1-inch thick slab of sponge cake or brioche can be substituted for ladyfingers.
8 ladyfingers
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon, rum, Sherry, or liqueur
Combine the milk and rum in a shallow bowl. Dip the ladyfingers quickly into the milk and place them over the layer of angel’s hair. Cut pieces to fill in gaps.
5. Almonds
½ cup coarsely chopped almonds
¼ teaspoon olive oil
Pinch sugar (1/16 teaspoon)
Combine the almonds with the oil and sugar. Spread on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and microwave 1 minute more. (The almonds do not need to color.) Cool. Scatter the almonds on top of the ladyfingers.
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| Ready for chilling--reserved cookie crumbs make the top layer. |
6. Pastry cream and crumbs
Spread remaining pastry cream on top of the ladyfingers and almonds.
Spread the reserved mantecado crumbs on top of the pudding. Lightly press the layer of crumbs into the pastry cream.
7. Chill the pudding
Cover the pudding bowl with several layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or up to 2 days.
8. Topping
Add the topping of cinnamon and confectioners' sugar immediately before serving. If you wish to make a typical pomegranate or other shape (why not a heart for Valentine’s Day?) on the pudding, you will need to have a cut-out pattern ready.
Confectioners’ sugar
Ground cinnamon or unsweetened cocoa
Sift cinnamon or cocoa over the top of the pudding. Place the paper pattern on top and sift powdered sugar over it. Brush sugar off the pattern and carefully lift it off.
To serve, scoop out portions of the pudding with a large spoon.
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| Typical blue-green ceramics from Granada with a stylized pomegranate, the city's emblem. |
💗💗💗 💗💗💗 💗💗💗
More recipes for Carnaval:
And for Valentine's Day:
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