I remember my mother would lovingly make this for us during the coldest Canadian winters. We were curious to know who Umm Ali (which means “Ali’s mother”) was. We tried to imagine what she might have looked like and had many laughs at the possibilities. We decided in the end that she must have been an amazing mother to think of making a dessert so luxurious and comforting for her children. This pudding has an exceptional texture because I use filo and puff pastry. And the flavor … so moreish.
MAKES: 10–12 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 10 oz filo pastry
- ¼ cup clarified butter, melted
- 10 oz puff pastry
- ¾ cup sultana or golden raisins (soaked in ½ cup rosewater)
- ¾ cup chopped pistachios
- ½ cup dried apricots, sliced thinly
- ¾ cup almonds, sliced and toasted
- 4 cups full-fat milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split and with seeds scraped
- 2 Tbsp rosewater
- 1 Tbsp orange blossom water
- ½ cup heavy cream, lightly whipped
- ½ cup icing sugar
- toasted almonds and pistachios, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Take 4 or 5 sheets of filo pastry and lightly brush each sheet with the melted butter. Lay them on a large baking sheet. They do not need to be flat so you can crumple them up slightly to fit. Bake until golden and crisp. Remove to cool. Continue with the rest of the filo, 4 or 5 sheets at a time. Place the rolled-out puff pastry on another baking sheet and bake, following the package instructions, until puffed and crisp. Remove to cool.
- In a deep 8-inch-round baking dish place several layers of filo and a large piece (or pieces) of puff pastry for the first layer, keeping the filo and puff pastry intact as much as possible. Sprinkle with some sultanas, nuts and apricots. Add more layers in the same order until done. In a large saucepan heat the milk, cream, sugar and the scraped vanilla pod and seeds.
- Allow to come to a boil for 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and add the rose and orange blossom waters.
- Remove the vanilla pod, and carefully and gradually pour the hot cream/milk over the pastries. Leave it for 10 minutes to soak up all the liquid. Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle icing sugar and bake for 40 minutes until the top browns and becomes puffed up. Remove and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Garnish with toasted almonds and pistachios at the last minute. Serve hot straight from the pan. I sometimes make individual portions in ramekins. The time in the oven will be reduced by half.
