What a perfect summer sweet! This pudding and compote combination has everything I love in a summer dessert. It uses the best local produce, is cool and very easy to put together without heating up the whole house with the oven. It can be rustic and casual served in little mason jars or an eclectic mix of small glasses and containers, or made elegant and sophisticated in matching glass or china ramekins, cut crystal dessert coupes or patterned demitasse cups. Plus, it can be made days ahead, so it is perfect for simple summer entertaining. And I don’t think I need to reiterate here how much I love buttermilk, and it really shines in this creamy, cool and comforting pudding. But that delicious tart tang is perfectly balance by the sweet blueberry compote with a summery undertone of fresh garden mint. Really, I don’t know what more you could want (ok, maybe a simple shortbread cookie to go on the side).
Trust my instructions to mistreat your mint – rubbing it between your fingers, then again with the rough sugar, releases the oils and fragrance so you really do get the lovely mint flavor. Stirring in some finely slivered mint as it cools layers that flavor but keeps the fresh mint bright. If you have any leftover compote, it is amazing over pancakes or waffles, topping ricotta toast, stirred into yogurt or spooned over ice cream. Look for whole buttermilk here (I mean, always seek out whole buttermilk) because it really creates the thick and creamy texture with a nice note of tanginess.
Ingredients
- For the Compote
1 pint fresh blueberries
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
6 fresh mint leaves
- For the Pudding
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 ¼ cup whole buttermilk
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
Directions
- For the Compote
- Put the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan. Rub three of the mint leaves between your fingers and drop them in the pan, then rub the mint leaves together with some of the sugar. All this rubbing releases the oils from the leaves, much like muddling mint in a cocktail. Add the lemon juice and stir then leave to sit for 30 minutes. Place the pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil, stirring several times, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the berries have begun to burst and the compote ahs thickened, around 10 – 15 minutes. It will thicken some more as it cools. Remove the pan from the heat. Fish out the cooked mint leaves. Chop the remaining three mint leaves into thin slivers and stir into the compote. Leave to cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or for up to five days.
- For the Pudding
- Put the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium sauce pan and whisk to combine. Add the cream, buttermilk, egg and lemon juice and stir to combine, then place over medium high heat and whisk and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and bubbles form across the whole surface. I use a whisk and a spatula, using the spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan. WHen the bubbles form, whisk vigorously for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until melted and smooth. Divide the pudding between 6 four to six ounce ramekins. Cover the top of each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours but up to three days.
Leave a Reply