Pina Colada Pudding

THIS delicious pudding was just the perfect dessert to round off our Christmas lunch. The original recipe was called Snowflakes which my dear friend Aruna had shared with me many years ago. Yellowing with age, the sheet of paper on which she had written it in blue ink (see pic below) still lies cello-taped inside my book of treasured recipes collected from here and there, each with its own story. Reference to it is like a flashback to our heady days of working together in the newsroom of a local daily - a place where I had forged some friendships for life. If the proof of the pudding indeed lies in the eating, then I think Aruna had once paid me the ultimate compliment when she said it had turned out better than her own! She says the credit for the recipe should actually go to her mother.

Snowflakes by itself is an instant hit with its lovely taste and texture. Not excessively sweet either. However, throwing in some canned pineapple bits and adding a splash of Malibu coconut rum gave it a kick, and also a new name. As usual, it was in the middle of making it that inspiration struck and both ingredients were readily at hand. So I went ahead with an assured feeling that one can never go wrong with a pineapple and coconut combination. Which, besides for making a sensuous pairing also conjures up images of tropical beaches, bikinis and umbrella drinks...

So here goes:

You will need:

2 cups whipped cream
1 and 1/3 cups fresh, grated coconut
5 slices canned pineapple, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon gelatine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons Malibu coconut rum
A pinch of salt
Half a cup of water

Mix sugar and milk on a slow fire, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool completely.

Heat half a cup of water and dissolve the gelatine in it. To the gelatine add the vanilla and salt and pour it into the milk/sugar mixture. Now add Malibu. Stir once to blend. Fold in the whipped cream, grated coconut and pineapple bits (reserving some for decoration) into the milk/sugar/gelatine mixture.

Gently ladle into a dish, cover with cling film and chill for at least three hours until set. I got it out of the way a day earlier. Garnish with pineapple bits and glace cherries.
Serves six.