Brukenthal Bread Puddings with Gooseberry Jam

This recipe was originally published in the award-winning cookbook Tava: Eastern European Baking and Desserts from Romania & Beyond by Irina Georgescu (Hardie Grant, 2022). Reprinted here with permission.

You can purchase Tava here

Brukenthal Bread Puddings with Gooseberry Jam (Budincă Brukenthal de pâine şi migdale cu gem de agrişe)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 50 g (2 oz/1/2 cup) ground almonds, plus extra for dusting the ramekins
• 80 g (3 oz) white bread, about 4 slices without crusts, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) cubes
• 300 ml (10 fl oz/1 1/4 cups) full-fat milk
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 generous tbsp honey
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

• 400 g (14 oz) red gooseberries
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz/scant 1/2 cup) golden caster (superfine) sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (non-fan)/350 F/gas 4. Grease the inside of 4 ramekins, 8 cm (3 in) in diameter and 5 cm (2 in) deep, and coat with ground almonds.
2. Put the bread pieces in the food processor. Bring the milk to a boil in a small pan, then pour it over the bread. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then blitz for a few seconds to make a smooth paste. Add the butter, mixing well, followed by the egg yolks and honey. Add the almond extract, ground almonds, and spices, and combine well.
3. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then fold into the batter
4. Bring a kettle to a boil.
5. Fill each ramekin all the way up with the batter, then place them in a large roasting tin and put it in the oven. Pour boiling water from the kettle into the roasting tin to cover the base (don’t get any in the ramekins!). Bake on a lower shelf in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden on top.
6. Prepare the gooseberry jam by stewing the gooseberries in a pan with the sugar and lemon zest and juice over a medium heat for 15 minutes. Set aside.
7. When the puddings are ready, serve them immediately with a teaspoon of gooseberry jam in the middle of each.