Black Raisin And Plum Compote With Baked Vanilla Bean Pudding

Black Raisin And Plum Compote With Baked Vanilla Bean Pudding

            A compote is an old English dessert made by cooking fruits and spices like vanilla, citrus peels, cloves, candied ginger and cinnamon in sugar syrup. In this compote I have used only cinnamon and vanilla with black raisins and plums. The syrup cooked to a beautiful ruby red colour and the fruits were imbued with the wonderful and exotic flavours of cinnamon and vanilla. It was so delicious that it could be eaten as it is.

          Both the vanilla pudding and the compote have strong individual flavours but together they create a delightful harmony, pleasing the eye, the nose and the palate.

        You can substitute the vanilla bean with extract. I love the specks of black imparted by the vanilla seeds and prefer not to strain it

Ingredients:For the Vanilla bean pudding:

• 800 ml (3 1/4 cups) low fat cream
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
• 220 gm (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 3 tbsp cornflour or cornstarch

Method:

1. In a sauce pan mix the cream, milk and sugar. Slit the vanila bean, cut it into half and scrape the insides with the tip of a knife and put it along with the bean into the cream. Cook on low heat, stirring all the while until the sugar dissolves completely and the cream comes to a simmer. Allow to cool and refrigerate overnight for the vanilla flavours to seep into the cream. If in a hurry, refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350F. Remove the bean and stir in the cornflour and with a whisk, mix till smooth and creamy with no lumps. Pour this into ramekins or any other oven proof bowls and bake for 25 minutes.
3. Allow to cool and refrigerate for 1 hour or more before serving.

Black Raisin and Plum Compote:
Ingredients:

• 75 gm (1/2 cup) black raisins
• 300 gm (1 1/2 cups ) plums, cut into halves, deseeded and sliced into halves or quarters depending on their size
• 150 gm (3/4 cup) granulated brown sugar
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) water
• 1 cinnamon
• 1 vanilla bean

Method:

1. In a sauce pan, put in the sugar and water with the cinnamon and vanilla and cook until the sugar dissolves. 
2. Put in the raisin n a sauce pan, put in the sugar and water with the cinnamon and vanilla and cook until the sugar dissolves.
3.  Put in th s and plums and continue to cook for 10 minutes or more until you get a thick syrup infused with the flavours of the fruits and spices.

To serve:

• Spoon a few spoons of the syrup along with the fruits over the chilled vanilla pudding.

                                                                                                                                         EnjoyFood!