Photo by Alan Bergo
When making pawpaw purée remember that the more heat you add to pawpaws, the less “perfume” there'll be in the finished product.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup puréed pawpaw fruit
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, plus more to garnish
- Fresh mint leaves to garnish (optional)
Directions
- Beat the egg, egg yolk, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gently sift the flour then fold in gently.
- Heat milk on medium-low in a non-reactive saucepan.
- Reduce heat to low when the milk is hot, but not boiling.
- Gradually whisk the egg- and flour-mixture into the milk.
- Cook the mixture, whisking constantly to ensure that the mixture doesn’t stick or burn to the sides or bottom of the pan.
- When the mixture thickens (about 5 minutes), turn off the heat and continue to whisk for a minute or two to prevent clumping.
- Stir in the lemon juice, pawpaw purée, and the kosher salt.
- Strain pudding into a container, working in small batches if necessary.
- Place plastic wrap on the surface of the pudding to prevent it from forming a skin.
- Cool the pudding immediately in the refrigerator, then reserve until needed.
- Whip the cream and a tablespoon of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon the pudding into four, 1-cup ramekins, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace on top for the whipped cream.
- Cover the pudding with the whipped cream and smooth the top with a pastry spatula, and garnish with sifted powdered sugar and a mint leaf.
- Learn more about growing and foraging for pawpaws in Foraging and Growing Pawpaws: North America’s Native ‘Banana’
- Chef Alan Bergo has cooked his way around Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, using wild and foraged ingredients whenever possible. Recipe courtesy of www.ForagerChef.com.
