Walnut Pudding – Where we found the recipe
This recipe for a Walnut Pudding is one derived from a book called Recipes of All Nations written by an enigmatic figure who called herself “Countess Morphy”, although her surname was actually Hincks and she almost certainly wasn’t a Countess. She possibly adopted this moniker as her cousin, Paul Morphy, was a famous chess player who was the unofficial world champion at the time.
Her book was published in England in 1935 and covered, in 18 chapters, recipes from many countries. When reading the book, we thought that a recipe for Walnut Pudding she published from Portugal sounded good as it was based on walnuts – something that grows very well in Tasmania.
When we first made the recipe we found it too stodgy and heavy, so we played around with both the fruit base and the treatment of the eggs to produce this light, flavoursome dish.
You can read more about Countess Morphy and her recipes in our essay on her life and book here:
Wikipedia article on Countess Morphy
We have changed the recipe so that it is almost a souffle to ensure that it is lighter than the original. We also recommend different fruits in the base of the dish depending on the season. We will use persimmons in this recipe as an example of what can be done to enhance the flavour of this dish.
Pudim de Noses: Delicious Walnut Pudding from Portugal
Course: DessertCuisine: PortugueseDifficulty: Medium6
servings1
hour40
minutesIngredients
90 grams sugar
150 grams walnuts pounded or whizzed in a spice grinder
4 eggs separated
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
Juice and shredded rind of two lemons
12 bletted persimmons reduced to a puree with 1 tablespoon of honey
Alternatively poached apples, pears, plums, quinces or any other interesting fruit that has been poached or pureed will add interest
Directions
- Pound the shelled walnuts in a mortar to a fine paste, alternatively, grind them in small batches (around 30 grams) in a spice grinder
- Break half a stick of cinnamon into small pieces and heat them in a frypan until they become warm but not hot
- Reduce the cinnamon to a fine powder in a mortar or spice grinder
- Beat egg yolks and sugar together until pale then add the walnuts and beat thoroughly
- Add the lemon rind and lemon juice
- Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form and then gently fold a third into the walnut mix
- Add the next third gently and then the final third of the whites. The mixture should be pourable at this stage
- In well-buttered small soufflé dishes place a small quantity of the persimmons, then pour in the walnut mixture until close to the top
- Place each dish in an oven dish with sides at least as high as the soufflé dishes
- Pour hot water into the oven dish until the water is half way up the side of the soufflé dishes
- Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Centigrade or 170 degrees Centigrade if your oven is fan forced.
Notes
- Persimmons are a wonderful fruit that need to be picked just after the first strong frosts. This has the effect of bursting some of the cells in the fruit so they progress to the next stage. Pick them and set them on a tray inside until the fruit becomes so soft that it can be easily removed with a spoon. This is the bletting process which is necessary for the taste and texture to be perfect for this recipe.