ep. 5: aporo purini mamaoa for Damien Levi

apples and caramel and pudding — oh my

Serves: 4–6
Prep time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 2 hrs

(nb. apologies for the lack of macron on the ‘āporo’ in the title of this post — apparently Squarespace does not like macrons on letters in titles and keeps trying to shift it to over the ‘p’, big side-eye)

the recipe for Damien’s episode came to me fairly quickly — i knew it had to be apple themed and i wanted to make sure i nodded to his Māori heritage. a twist on purini mamaoa it was then — Māori burnt sugar steamed pudding.

purini mamaoa is usually made alongside a hāngī — meat and vegetables steamed in a pit in the ground (which, interestingly, is a method of cooking you can find in many cultures across the globe). alas, my lack of outside space meant i steamed this in a pudding bowl over the hob, but the theory is much the same.

i highly recommend serving this steamed pudding with custard — the thick, store-bought kind is best — and if you want a little extra fruitiness, some stewed apples on the side would go down a treat.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:

• medium saucepan

• food processor

• mixing bowl

• 1.5l pudding bowl

• large pot

• trivet

INGREDIENTS:

for the pudding:

• 150g self-raising flour

• 90g caster sugar

• ½ tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp mixed spice

• 1 tsp salt

• 125g cold unsalted butter, cubed + extra for buttering pudding bowl

• 2 eggs

• 80g apple sauce (see notes)

for the burnt sugar syrup:

• 37g caster sugar

• 40ml water

for the topping:

• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced finely

to serve:

• custard (see notes)

METHOD:

to make burnt sugar syrup:

1. in the medium saucepan over a medium-high heat, make a dry caramel with the caster sugar and take to a dark amber.

2. stop the caramel with the water, then set aside to cool.

to make pudding:

1. in the bowl of food processor, combine the dry ingredients and butter. pulse until the flour and butter resembles a sandy texture (you can also do this step by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour).

2. tip mixture into mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.

3. beat eggs and apple sauce together, then pour into well and, using a spatula, mix until just combined. add the cooled sugar syrup and mix until just combined.

4. butter pudding bowl well and place a small circle of parchment paper in the bottom. layer sliced apple in the bottom in a spiral.

5. pour pudding mix into pudding bowl. cover with a circle of parchment paper, ensuring it goes over the rim of the bowl, and then cover with a double-layer of tin foil. secure with string, tying tightly to ensure no water gets in.

6. place pudding bowl on top of a trivet at the bottom of a large pot. fill the pot with enough water to reach about 2/3 of the way up the pudding bowl, then bring the water up to the boil, lower to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid.

7. steam for 2 hrs or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the pudding comes out clean. remove foil and parchment paper, run a knife along the sides, and invert pudding onto plate. remove parchment circle on top.

8. serve hot with custard.

NOTES:

• feel free to use store-bought sugar-free apple sauce for this, however, if you’d like to make your own:

  • peel and core 1 apple and chop into small pieces

  • simmer with 2 tbsp of water in a small pan for 5-8 mins or until broken down, mixing periodically

  • set aside to cool before use

• traditional french custard (or crème anglaise) is very simple to make, however, a good, thick, store-bought custard goes really well with this pudding. i leave it up to you to decide which you’d rather

• this recipe was developed from this recipe published inStuff and this recipe from Olive magazine.