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Slice of my platinum pudding.

My Platinum Pudding

Liz Mincin
Taking inspiration from Maltese, Indian and English flavours, this update on the classic charlotte royale pudding is made up of thin layers of spiced chai and almond cakes lining with a creamy berry chai tea custard filling. An easy and elegant make ahead pudding, making a showstopping dessert fit for The Queen.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling and Assembly 8 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine British, Indian, Maltese
Servings 16 slices
Calories 275 kcal

Equipment

  • hand held electric beater
  • Small saucepan
  • large mixing bowl
  • 2 Swiss roll pans
  • 2 medium mixing bowls
  • small mixing bowl 8.5" or 21cm
  • Food processor

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Cakes

  • 4 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch or cornflour in the UK
  • ¾ cup all purpose flour or plain flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • pinch ground ginger

Ingredients for Custard Filling

  • 7 oz fresh strawberries hulled and chopped
  • 7 oz fresh raspberries
  • 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • ¾ cup milk full fat or whole milk
  • ½ cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
  • 2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 8 gelatine leaves see note
  • 1⅔ cup heavy cream or double cream
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon almond extract or 1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur

Ingredients for Meringue Decoration (optional)

  • 2 egg whites
  • ½ cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoon water

Instructions
 

Instructions for the Cakes

  • Begin by lining two Swiss roll tins with parchment paper and preheating an oven to 350°F (175C/155C Fan).
  • Separate the eggs, placing all four egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Place two egg yolks in a small bowl or jug and the two remaining egg yolks in a separate small bowl or jug.
  • Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and whisk using a handheld electric hand beater until soft peaks form. Then being adding ¼ cup of sugar about a tablespoon at a time, while continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Set this aside.
  • Add 1½ tablespoon of water to each of the small bowls of egg yolks. Then add almond extract to one bowl and vanilla extract to the other. Whisk each bowl together separately to beat the egg yolks lightly.
  • Add ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of flour to each of two separate medium mixing bowls. Then add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to each bowl and ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar to each bowl. Stir each together.
  • Add the dry ground spices to one of the bowls of flour and give it a stir.
  • Next add the vanilla egg yolk mixture and a couple of drops of red food colouring gel to the flour bowl with the spices. Add the almond egg yolk mixture and a couple drops of yellow food colouring gel to the other flour bowl. Whisk each together separately to create two batters - one yellow and one pink.
  • Now, divide your egg white meringue down the middle using a spatula or table knife. Dollop a small bit out of each half of the meringue to add to each bowl of batter. Stir these to help loosen the batters before adding the rest of each half of the meringue to the bowls. Fold to create light, airy sponge batters. Avoid beating or stirring too much as you don't want to knock too much air out.
  • Pour each batter into one of the prepared sheet pans. Gently spread into the corners of the trays with a spatula to make these as even as possible.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, watching for the cakes to be risen and to spring back to the touch.
  • Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the trays for about 5 minutes, before turning out onto clean pieces of parchment paper and gently peeling the baking parchment away.
  • Line a small (8.5" or 21cm) mixing bowl or pudding basin with plastic wrap to make removing the pudding easier once it is finished. Then add slices of the cakes to this to create a shell of cake that will be the outer layer of your pudding (see note), reserving enough to cover the bottom of your filled pudding later.
  • Once you've made your cake lining, set this aside while you make the filling.

Instructions for the Filling

  • For the filling, begin by soaking your gelatine leaves in cool water for at least five minutes until softened, then squeeze out the excess liquid and set aside.
  • Meanwhile, place your raspberries and hulled strawberries in the bowl of a food processor along with the powdered sugar and blitz until pureed. Then pass through a sieve to remove seeds and excess pulp, collecting a smooth juice puree in a bowl.
  • In a jug, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until light and creamy.
  • In a small saucepan, warm the milk with the ground cardamom over a medium heat until simmering.
  • Allow to simmer for 2 minutes before tempering your eggs. Do this by pouring the hot liquid slowly into the egg mixture while whisking continuously. Then immediately pour this mixture back into the saucepan and continue heating at medium until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Avoid bringing this mixture to a boil.
  • Once thickened, remove from the heat and add the gelatine to the pan, whisking until this has melted and the custard is smooth. Then add the berry puree and almond extract or amaretto (if using), stirring to combine.
  • Place this berry custard in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to cool.
  • Once the custard has cooled for 30 minutes, make your whipped cream by beat the heavy cream with a handheld electric beater until stiff peaks form.
  • Add the fruit puree to the cream and fold to incorporate until you have a light berry mousse.
  • Pour this into the cake lined bowl, smooth and top with the reserved strips of cake.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to set for at least four hours (ideally overnight).
  • When set, unwrap and turn out onto a serving plate.

Instructions for the Decoration (optional)

  • If looking to add a decorative touch, this dessert leaves you with spare egg whites that make for an easy Italian-style meringue decoration.
  • In a small saucepan heat the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves and then bring to a boil. Allow this to boil for 3 minutes.
  • While the syrup is boiling, beat your egg whites with a handheld electric beater until they reach soft peaks.
  • After three minutes, pour the syrup slowly down the side of the bowl into your soft peaked egg whites while you continue to beat these.
  • Continue beating until the meringue is thick, glossy, stiff and has cooled down. This normally takes 5-10 minutes.
  • Transfer to a piping bag and pipe decorations onto the pudding.
  • Serve slices cool and store in the refrigerator.

Notes

Leaf gelatine is common in the UK, but sometimes more difficult to find in the US. You can substitute the gelatine leaves with gelatine powder. For 8 leaves of gelatine, substitute with 6 teaspoons of powdered gelatine for the same results.
You can create any design you would like for your pudding, including simply using strips of the different coloured cake placed next to each other. For description of creating the Battenberg style chequerboard, see the blog post, which also provides images of the pattern.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 34.2gProtein: 6.2gFat: 13.6gSaturated Fat: 7.8gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 42mgPotassium: 111mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 27.3gCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg
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