I grew up with Sago Pudding back in South Africa, well I think most South Africans do actually. It’s such a lovely dessert to enjoy during the colder months. This one looks a bit “smarter” than what I was used to as a kid though. Mom used to make one big bowl and fold the egg whites into the mix rather than making a topping with it, then blot teaspoons of apricot jam on top before it went into the oven.
This one is just as satisfying, the only difference is that I have layered the pudding to make it look a bit fancier for my guests. You basically have the baked sago custard at the bottom, followed by a layer of apricot jam and then finally the french meringue on top. (I have used 6 x 200ml glass jars in this recipe) If you don’t want to make it in a little ramekins, then go ahead and make it in one of your ovenproof dishes.
Bon Appetit!
You’ll need
- • For the custard sago pudding
- 1 x cup sago or tapioca
- 1lt x full cream milk
- 1 x large cinnamon stick
- 1 x vanilla pod, split open
- ½ tsp x salt
- 65g x sugar
- 70g x unsalted butter
- 4 x eggs yolks
- 100g x apricot jam
- • For the meringue topping
- 4 x egg whites
- 220g x sugar
- ½ tsp x salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a large pot, add the milk, split vanilla bean and cinnamon stick and slowly bring to a boil. (Keep stirring as milk do tend to burn at the bottom)
- Remove the cinnamon stick, reduce the temperature to medium high and add the sago.
- Continuously stir until the sago turns transparent and the mixture thickens, this takes about 20 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the sugar and butter and stir through. Add the egg yolks and mix quickly through to prevent the eggs from curdling.
- Spoon the mixture into individual glass jars.
- Place the glass jars into a roasting tin large enough to fit them all and pour in boiling water so that it comes up halfway to the side of your jars. (This is called a bain-marie)
- Bake for 30 minutes and whilst this is baking, you can start on the meringue.
- In your stand mixer, whip the egg whites until it forms soft peaks.
- Add the salt and sugar little by little whilst the machine is running until you have a glossy and firm mixture, place into a piping bag and set aside.
- Carefully remove the jars from the oven and spoon 1 tablespoon apricot jam on top and spread with the back of a spoon.
- Pipe swirls of meringue on top and place back into the oven to bake for a further 5 – 10 minutes until golden brown.