Strawberry Sponge Pudding Cake with Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise





The title is a little bit confusing and super long, yeah I know but I can't think of other names that are suitable for this dessert. I want the title to represent the dessert, but of well :P

The term "pudding" in Indonesia is very different than what we call pudding here in the US. Here, we always know pudding as the Jell-o type pudding, at least that custard-like texture. But back in Indonesia, pudding is something that you make using agar agar. It's a gelling agent, almost like a gelatin, but agar agar is derived from plants, instead of animals. The texture it gives is also different than what gelatin does, it sets in different way. Pudding always reminds me when I was a kid. Everybody eats lots of pudding during the childhood, so pudding is often associated with childhood memories. It used to be made with just liquid (water, milk, coconut milk, you name it), agar agar, and sugar. Now, there are so many variation on puddings. People are getting more and more creative with this dessert and sky is the limit of what can you do with it. Another thing about pudding is, no one can mess it up. All you need to do is boil it and pour into mold for basic pudding. Even if it doesn't turn out like you expected, it'll still taste great anyway.



I was craving for one for quite some time, but again, didn't have the time to make it. So last Sunday, I had about three hours of free time. I usually take a nap on Sunday but it was pretty late for nap and I didn't want to stay wide awake at midnight. I remember I had some strawberry puree in the freezer. I pureed the leftover strawberries in the fridge since they showed some threat of going bad real soon. I love to keep fruit purees in the freezer all the times. It's a great time saver whenever I want to make mousse, or jelly, or anything. So I guess that time was reserved for strawberry pudding.

I make the sponge-type pudding this time, which I added beaten egg white (hence the name). I also added some egg yolks to the mixture to get a softer texture. I used a base of chiffon type cake that I had kept in the freezer for times like this. Everything will just be a breeze to make if you have some of the components ready to use. I also made clear jelly to pour on top of the pudding to have the shiny or mirror effect. It looks like strawberry mirror cake really with strawberry mousse filling, but believe me, the texture is nowhere close to mousse. I made vanilla bean creme anglaise for the sauce. It's very common to serve pudding with creme anglaise, or what we usually called "vla".



It happened that on Monday, we had a surprise birthday dinner for my brother and so I brought this dessert over. My friends went crazy over this, it was gone in a split second. Too bad it was a small size cake, about 8", but everybody got a slice at least. I brought the mini ones to work to share with friends and the pictures are again courtesy of Tony :)





I'm not going to type the recipe because I'm not sure if the kind of agar agar I used is readily available. But let me know of you want me to.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a nice dessert you did? I had so much agar-agar in my pantry and had not clue how to use it. so yes, I like to try this dessert make with agar-agar, so appreciated if you post the recipe. Thanks

jessie lu said...

Ya, me totally engross with your cakes and the nice deco u have done, do share the recipes

Amelie said...

i was impressed with the cake... i hope to have the recipe... i wish to make for my papa as his birthday cake. would you mind giving me the recipe. at least i can try searching for the ingredients. thx thx
(ailin.amelie@yahoo.com)

Bertha said...

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in posting the recipe. I do have the ingredients and the amounts, but I haven't had the chance to sit down and write down the instruction though. Bear with me, I'll try to finish it as soon as possible.

:+:Karin:+: said...

Hi,

Can I have the recipe for this pudding?
My email is karinyeo_93@hotmail.com
Thank You. Would appreciate if you could share the recipe with me.

Regards,
Karin

Unknown said...

Brilliant!!! pls can you give me the recipe.My id- dharmik.puja@gmail.com.Thanks.

Unknown said...

Brilliant Cake!!! pls share the recipe...Thanks

Anonymous said...

hi,
I really want to try this and I was wondering if I can have the recipe for this pudding.my email is trish_preety27@yahoo.com ..tnx a bunch :))

Unknown said...

Hi
I have recently discovered your great blog.
I would love to have a go at making this pudding cake.
I am able to get agar-agar, so that won't be a problem.
I would appreciate it if I could have a copy of your recipe.
Thanks
Sue
dandshogan@bigpond.com.au