Sago pudding with whisky custard

Serves 8 – 10

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 45 minutes

For an alcohol-free version, add a little coffee or vanilla essence to the caramel. If you’re planning to make this on holiday, pack your electric mixer to make the meringue – a balloon whisk requires a lot of elbow grease.

You need

• 200 ml sago

• 4½ cups full-cream milk

• 125 ml butter, melted

• 400 ml sugar

• 125 ml cream

• 30 ml whisky

• pinch of sea salt

• 4 eggs, separated

Here’s how

1 Preheat the oven to 160° C. Soak the sago in 1 cup of milk for about an hour.

2 Add the butter, 250 ml sugar, cream, whisky and sea salt to a pot over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is caramel coloured.

3 Add the sago and the rest of the milk to the caramel mixture and simmer until the sago is transparent. Stir regularly to prevent the milk from catching. Set the custard aside to cool down before you add the egg yolks.

4 Transfer the mixture to a greased, ovenproof dish. Place the dish inside a bigger, deeper tray. Fill the tray with hot water until it reaches halfway up the oven dish.

5 Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and then add the remaining sugar one spoonful at a time until the whites are stiff. Spoon the meringue mixture on top of the custard and bake for about 45 minutes in the bain-marie until the top of the meringue is nicely browned.

• TIP If you don’t have access to an oven, stir the sago custard and egg yolks in a potjie over the coals or on a gas stove until the mixture thickens. Divide the custard into single-portion bowls, spoon meringue on top of each portion and use a blow torch to caramelize the meringue. Even easier: Serve the sago with store-bought meringues or a scoop of ice cream.