ORANGE CREAM

Idon't know about you but I love Oranges! I love them in cakes, cookies, scones, salads...everything! Infact one of the cakes that Jobin baked for my birthday was a spectacular Double Orange Cake with Marble Icing. Last year for Christmas, I baked an Orange & Rum Glazed Fruit Cake which got rave reviews.I've even posted a video on how to make that cake. Then there's my Orange & Raisin Buttermilk Scones,  Passionfruit & Orange Whoopie Pies, Craisin & Orange Squarecakes, My Fair Lady Pudding with Blackberry & Orange Sauce, Mediterranean Orange Salad. And now this.

This is another dessert that I made very recently and we loved everything about it. I am very picky when it comes to puddings. I honestly cannot stand a firm pudding. Too much gelatin or chinagrass/agar agar  is a big NO for me. They need to be softly set and jiggly. I once judged a dessert competition back in Kannur and most of the desserts that were there were heavy on setting agents and it had a terrible mouth feel.

This one is creamy,smooth and just set. Don't worry when I say 'just set'. You can slice it perfectly and it will sit pretty on the plate. It will glide over your tongue into your belly,it's not something you have to chew and break up like jelly bears! I made this pudding for a get together with our friends but Jobin & I did a taste test and literally polished off half the tray even before we could serve it. It's perfectly sweet and tastes very refreshing which by the way is why I love Citrus!

ORANGE CREAM 
Serves 12-15

Ingredients:
Base:
200 gram marie biscuits, powdered fine
75 grams butter, melted

Custard:
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tin condensed milk
Juice of 4 navel oranges
Juice of 1 lime

2 teaspoon gelatin dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
2 egg whites
200 ml fresh cream
 Orange segments for garnish

Method:

Base :Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl and press it into a 9x13 inch dish. Bake at 350F for 10 mins. Let it cool completely.

Custard: In a heatproof bowl, beat the yolks and sugar together until well mixed. Add the condensed milk, orange juice & lime juice and mix to combine. Cook over a double boiler, stirring continuously until it forms a fairly thick custard.
Melt the gelatin and pour into the custard. Mix well and let it chill in the fridge till it is half set.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites till soft peaks form. Add the fresh cream and beat again till thick. Fold it into the half set custard in two batches carefully without deflating the whites.
Pour the orange cream over the cooled biscuit base and let it set in the fridge covered well with a cling wrap / lid  for 3-4 hours.
Decorate with orange segments, slice and serve!

* I used navel oranges and it gave me close to 1.5 cups orange juice. You can use any oranges because the original recipe did not mention a variety. Navel oranges are my personal favourite.
* The custard was not thick custard like the traditional custard. It will thicken up quite a bit from it's initial stage though and I stopped it there. It took me about 8-10 mins.
*IF your chilled custard sets up fully, don't worry. Just whip it up well using a hand mixer and continue from there. Half set makes it easier to fold in the remaining ingredients.
* The fresh cream / heavy cream we get here has a minimum of 35% fat. If you are going to use a lower fat one, beat the whites and cream separately. Then fold the two together. I did not have any issues in whipping up the egg whites & cream together in one bowl. I do not want your efforts to go waste, so please whip them separately if you are planning on using low fat cream.
* I haven't tried with this non-dairy whipped / whipping cream. If you plan to use it, please know that some of the whipping cream brands are already sweetened.

Put this dessert on your must-make list as soon as you can. You will love it for sure! This one will be doing it's round in our parties for sure. If you cannot find canned mandarin oranges that I've used here for decorating the pudding slices, you can simply segment a navel orange and put that on top. If you are feeling too lazy, just pipe some cream and grate some orange zest over it. If you are feeling too too lazy, serve them plain...it would still taste good! I rarely have canned fruit with me but for once I did and at the right time! That's how they made an appearance here.

My cousin sis-in-law Tanita (Daisy Mummy's daughter-in-law) and I share a lot of recipes with each other and this recipe is something that she had shared with me when I last visited Kothamangalam. She found it in an edition of Vanitha magazine and it was shared by Ms. Roshini George. I don't know if you would ever see this post but if you do, thank you Roshini chechy...we loved it!

So like I always say, if you make it please let me know how you liked it! It motivates me to be more here because when I see your happy notes, it's brightens up my day!