To be honest, sometimes you don’t have to follow a complicated recipe to make an insanely delicious dessert and what really matters is the taste and the love you put in making the dessert. Therefore, the first ever recipe of “from pistachio with love” will be a super simple and absolutely delicious mascarpone pudding, which takes less than 20 mins to make, accompanied by a tangy and fragrant mandarin saffron compote.
If you don’t want to read my detailed recipe banter, you can download the PDF version here. If you would like read my step by step recipe here we go.
This recipe is divided into two parts, first is the creamy mascarpone pudding and then the mandarin saffron compote
Mascarpone Pudding:
I was never a big fan of pudding until I ended up with this combination. Adding mascarpone to this basic pudding does magic. And to top it up, this recipe is vegetarian. No added gelatin to this pudding is a plus for me. Let’s start with what you will need to make this creamy pudding.
Ingredients (Serves 6):
8 Egg Yolks*
600ml Whole Milk
40g Corn Starch
120g Brown Sugar**
2 table spoons Vanilla Extract
400g Mascarpone Cheese
*Don't throw away the egg whites, you can freeze them in 2s or 4s in a box for cooking or other desserts.
**Amount of Sugar is something very personal. In my recipes I suggest the amount that I find appropriate but please go ahead and increase/decrease the amount of sugar according to your taste.
First start with pouring 600ml milk and vanilla extract into a heavy bottom saucepan and heat on medium/low heat. It important to heat the milk slowly because we don’t want the milk to stick to the pan nor the fat to separate on the top.
Now on the side, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and corn starch in a mixing bowl. Whisk until you see the color change to a pale yellow color. I prefer using a metal whisk because for me it creates enough resistance to get to the pale yellow color. Of course you can use what you have, this is just my preference.
Once you see that milk is hot and small bubbles start to appear on the sides, add 1/3 of the milk into the mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly, until the mixture is homogenous (Please be careful not spill any milk while pouring into the mixing bowl, I almost burnt my foot).
Now pour this egg + milk mixture back into the sauce pan with remaining milk and start whisking non-stop until mixture starts thickening, it shouldn’t take than 1-2 mins. You will feel the resistance while whisking and you will know when to stop.
Once you achieve the thickness, take it off the heat, add the mascarpone and whisk it together. The yellow pudding will now change color to a paler yellow. Scoop the pudding in glass or bowls of your choice.
Cool it for at least 3-4 hours in fridge before serving. I prefer to make it a day before.
This pudding can be eaten by itself but to take this pudding to a next level, I created a delicious mandarin saffron compote. Continue reading for the recipe.
Mandarin Saffron Compote:
This compote is so fragrant and delicious that I just can’t explain it with words, you just have to make it to experience it. I am writing this blog a week after making this compote and I could still smell the fragrance from the saffron in this compote. And yes you can keep this compote in the fridge for up to two week and it is such a versatile recipe that you can eat it with lot of other accompaniments, like ice cream or yogurt. Let’s get to the recipe.
Ingredients:
500gm Peeled Mandarin
50gm Brown Sugar*
8 Stalks of saffron
½ teaspoon lemon zest
First start with peeling the mandarin and then removing the skin from each segment. This takes time, especially when you need 500gms of it (It’s a nice couple activity and you can multitask by watching Netflix).
Combine the mandarin and sugar in a heavy bottom saucepan on a medium heat. Stir often to release water with in the mandarin. Keep an eye to make sure the edges don’t burn ( I burnt mine the first time i made it, so this needs a bit of your attention). You can also try squish the mandarins with spoon to make the process a bit faster.
Once the mandarins are nice and juicy, add the lemon zest and 8 stalks/stigma of saffron. Keep stirring to prevent it from burning at the bottom. Soon you will smell the saffron and it is heavenly.
Take a bite to check if you like the flavor and sweetness. If your mandarin are not very sweet and tangy, you might have to add more sugar and lemon juice to your preference.
Cook until the mandarin saffron mixture comes together to a bit thicker consistency and you are done. Cool down the compote before serving or you can store in a jar and keep in the fridge up to two weeks.
*Amount of Sugar is something very personal. In my recipes I suggest the amount that I find appropriate but please go ahead and increase/decrease the amount of sugar according to your taste.
Serve:
Serve the mascarpone pudding with a spoon of compote on the top, the compote is so rich that a spoon is more than enough to spice up the entire pudding. For totally optional decoration ideas, place a small mint leaf to finish your beautiful dessert.
Thanks a lot for reading this recipe and please let me know what you think about this recipe if you make it. And of course I would be delighted to hear all your suggestions and comments.
Enjoy! From pistachio with love
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