CLASSIC SNOW BALL PUDDING (Floating Island Pudding)

Before I proceed with this post, I need to thank Rathai of Rathai's Recipes and Ambreen of Simply Sweet n Savoury for awarding me with Liebster award. Thank you so much Rathai and Ambreen for keeping me in your thoughts and bestowing this award on me J Please ignore the delay in acknowledging...of late I have become very forgetful. I also need to thank Sonali of Only Fish Recipes for giving me the Versatile blogger award. Thanks dear!
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, though I firmly believe this is only partially true but that’s another story. As a newly-wed, I was certainly living by this adage. To please impress my husband with a different unique dish (he has grown up on typical Indian cuisine) and to flaunt my cooking skills (whatever few I had at that point of time) I wanted to present to him a dish that would floor him! This dish had caught my fancy when Mum had first cooked it. It looked so spectacular and tasted so yummy that I zeroed in on this dish to carry out my mission ;-) When I told Mum about my intent and requested her for the recipe, I could hear an amused tone in her voice over the phone. This was one of the two non-Indian desserts that Mum used to dish out for us; the other being the crème caramel.Despite my first attempt, this dessert did come out well. But after that first attempt, I never made it again…no, not because my husband didn’t like it but because post that attempt, the demands of juggling an 8 to 7 job and domesticity seized most of my time. And, more over once the mission was accomplished I never had the motivation to make it again ;-)

Thanks to blogging, when I started compiling a list of Mom’s recipes, I realized that this was one recipe that I had not made ever since. And, what better way to have a reminiscence of those beautiful moments when I first made it J

Here is what you will need for this old-fashioned pudding:5 egg whites½ litre (plus 1 cup +/- coz it will reduce while poaching) milk2-3 tbsp custard powder (vanilla flavour)1 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste)Pour the milk in a container and allow it to come to a boil. While the milk is boiling whisk the egg whites till they form stiff peaks. When the milk gets boiled, add sugar to the milk.Stir to dissolve the sugar and sieve it in a wide containerKeep the container on the fire and let the milk simmer on very low heat. Now, with the help of a spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop the stiff peaks of egg and gently put them on to the simmering milk and poach them.Once done, remove them on a moist plate and keep them in the refrigerator to set.Finish the whole meringue (stiff egg white) in this manner.Remove the milk from the heat.The quantity of milk would have reduced. Add more milk to bring the amount back to half a liter.Take half a cup of milk (cold or at room temperature) and add the custard powder to it. 
Mix well and add to the milk and again put the milk container on fire.Let it gently simmer on fire while continuously stirring it. Once the custard is cooked, remove from the heat and let it cool. Keep giving it a stir now and then to avoid the formation of a creamy crust on its top. Once cool, refrigerate it and then serve it topped with the meringue. Note: The original recipe had the yolks being gradually added to milk on a low simmer to make the custard but I failed to recall whether I was supposed to use all the egg yolks or not. Playing safe I used custard powder instead. Note: I added a little more than a cup of milk more coz it reduce substantially while I was poaching the meringue.Note: This pudding can be served with a drizzle of caramel on top but I preferred a sprinkle of cooled and crushed caramel since that also added some texture. 
Serves - 6
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