This classic Brazilian dessert has always been the favorite smooth and creamy end to the "feijoada" dinner. My Brazilian sister-friend, Sonia Wosnuk Duffles, taught me the particulars and technicalities of making the perfect "pudim" in 1978 when she lived with our family in Sao Paulo. Sonia hailed from the interior city of Goiana, the daughter of Austrian and Russian immigrants. She told me there are "secrets" to making the dessert, so here they are and thank you Sonia for remaining my sister and friend ever since.
This recipe yields two small round tin forms* or one large. It may be halved.
Place 11x15 pan, filled with an inch of water, on middle rack of oven. Preheat to 325 degrees. Once the pudim is in oven, lower heat to 300.
In a BLENDER, place in order the following ingredients:
2 cans sweetened condensed milk, 14 ounce
2 cans 2% milk, (use empty SCM cans)
8 eggs
2 more heaping Tablespoons of sugar
Blend ingredients, BUT ONLY LONG ENOUGH TO MIX completely TOGETHER - about 10-15 seconds. You don't want any froth. Leave mixture in blender while you make the burnt sugar syrup:
In two small round tin forms, heat 3-4 Tablespoons of sugar on stovetop over medium-low heat until all the lumps are dissolved and sugar is brown and carmelized, stirring sugar around to equalize the melting. Once all the lumps are gone, add a Tablespoon of water . This causes instant brittleness; leave on low heat until the brittleness goes away. DO NOT STIR. Remove from heat when you can see the brown syrup is a thick liquid substance one again.
Gently pour ingredients from blender into the tin forms on top of the syrup, disturbing it as little as possible.
Place the forms gently in the water filled 11x15 pan.
Bake one hour, sometimes it takes longer according to the heat distribution of some ovens, up to an hour and 20-25 min. Pudim is done when you stick a sharp knife in center and it is no longer liquid. there may be some small clinging pudim on knife. This is good. Turn off heat. Wait 10 minutes. Remove from heat and place on counter to cool. Place forms in refrigerator to cool completely and leave there until serving time. When ready to serve, slide sharp knife around all edges and invert on serving plate. Slice and serve.
*Okay, so round tin forms are rather obsolete. I found both of mine at the DI. They are round old fashioned jello molds, and have a center hole, like a small bundt pan. I believe there are oven safe baking molds for this purpose. If you cannot find one of these, Melt your sugar in a pan on the stove and pour it into a deep dish glass pie plate, or two small pie plates, and then pour the pudim on top. It still works, just no fancy hole in the center.