sparkling cranberries + cardamom + lemon pudding
Author: 
Recipe type: dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • FOR THE LEMON PUDDING: 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • ¾ cup apple juice
  • ⅔ cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoon flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • FOR THE CRANBERRIES: 4 cups fresh cranberries (or frozen and still intact)*
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 4 cups water
  • 1-2 cardamom pods
  • more granulated sugar for dredging the cranberries (large crystal is nice, or regular granulated sugar)
Instructions
  1. FOR THE PUDDING: Put all pudding ingredients into a double boiler and cook over boiling water, stirring frequently, until thick. Mine was the consistency of runny peanut butter.
  2. Pour into 9 x 9 pie dish (or equivalent) and allow to cool slightly. Gently butter a piece of plastic wrap and place it over the pudding (to prevent the thickened pudding skin formation -- unless you like that kind of thing). Cool completely in refrigerator.
  3. FOR THE CRANBERRIES: Put sugar and water into a medium-large saucepan and bring to almost a boil, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar crystals. Put in the cardamom pods after removing from heat. Put aside to cool. (If you pour the hot liquid over the cranberries, they will pop -- don't do this!) I cooled mine to the point that I could touch the outside of the saucepan with my hands without it feeling too hot (enough to warm my cold fingers.)
  4. Put the cranberries into a large bowl. Remove the cardamom pods from the simple syrup. Slowly pour the cooled simple syrup over the berries. Cover them and place in refrigerator overnight (or at least 8 hours).
  5. Strain the cranberries from the syrup (which can be saved for flavoring tart drinks). Put small handfuls of the berries into the sugar and roll them around to cover them in the sugar. (Small batches prevents the sugar from getting too wet).
  6. Place the sugared cranberries on a baking sheet to dry for at least 2 hours (up to 4 hours). If they seem wet at this point, re-sugar them and allow to dry another hour. I re-sugared mine just before serving.
  7. ASSEMBLING THE DISH: Carefully place the cranberries in one layer over the top of the pudding just before serving. (If you allow the berries to sit too long on the pudding, the sugar will melt into the pudding and make it soupy. Not a bad thing, but you won't have the sparkling cranberries you set out to make.) I needed only about half of the cranberries to top the pudding. The others make a nice centerpiece and snack before a family dinner.
  8. The cranberries are best eaten the day that they are made but can be placed in the refrigerator for several days (separate from the pudding). Not that they'll last that long if you have cranberry enthusiasts in your home.
Notes
* I used a bag of cranberries from last year (!) for this recipe. I promptly went out and bought another (fresh) bag. And now it's in the freezer.
Recipe by story of a kitchen at https://www.storyofakitchen.com/dessert-recipes/sparkling-cranberries-lemon-pudding/