Raise your hand if you too are a fan of strawberries and cream. The quintessential duo is the most perfect combo enjoyed together with nothing else or as base of a nearly unlimited number of strawberry and cream desserts. This delicious strawberry-gin Welf pudding is the latest proof and quickly becoming a favourite at the Carrots and Tigers house.
The start of the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament (late June or early July) regularly reminds me of two things: Firstly, this is the perfect time of year to visit England (on a more touristy approach, venturing into the stunning English countryside as opposed to year-round business trips to London). Secondly, whilst it marks the height of the local English strawberry season, it is the time of year where sadly strawberries are starting to vanish from local farmstalls over here in Germany.
Did you know that around 150,000 servings of strawberries and cream are during the two weeks of the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament in London each year?
To wave goodbye to this years’ local strawberry season, I’ve made this delicious, creamy strawberry-gin Welf pudding, a twist of the traditional German Welf Pudding or Welfenspeise.
This popular German dessert was first served at the 200-year anniversary of the reign of the House of Hanover, also known as the House of Welf (Guelph’s), in 1914. The white and yellow shaded of the dessert represent the Welf family colours.
Though Welf pudding is typically two-layered, consisting of a vanilla custard and wine syllabub, it’s not unusual the vanilla custard will be divided in two and the dessert served three-layered, giving it a more striking shape.
The strawberry-gin Welf pudding is also three-layered, composed of a strawberry compote, strawberry cream and the gin cream, which is made like the traditional Italian Zabaglione wine cream, instead that instead of wine, gin is used.
By the way, the house of Hanover not only ruled Hanover in Germany at a certain but also Great Britain and Ireland at certain times between the 17th and 20th centuries. It still exists today, and even though the current German legislation does not recognize royal titles anymore, those former titles have legally become part of the normal family name. Thus the current head of the House of Hanover is still carrying the title Prince of Great Britain and Ireland as part of his family name.
I admit, it’s a far-fetched connection to the strawberry and cream tradition at Wimbledon and thus whipping together a red-coloured Welf pudding bearing some kind of logic. But still.
Strawberry-Gin Welf Pudding recipe
Serves 4
500 g strawberries
1 teaspoon lime zest, grated
4 tablespoons lime juice
5 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 vanilla pod
2 tablespoons food starch
4-5 tablespoons gin
Method
Puree half of the strawberries and pour through a fine sieve.
Dice the remaining half of the strawberries, add lime zest, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1 tablespoon sugar, carefully stir together then refrigerate.
Beat egg white until stiff, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat shortly.
Mix 1 tablespoon food starch with 3 tablespoons cold water.
In a saucepan, add the strawberry puree and the pulp of the vanilla pad. Bring to boil while stirring constantly. Add the liquid food starch and continue to stir for another 1-2 minutes until well combined.
Take from the heat, let cool for a short moment then add the stiff egg white.
In a large bowl, mix egg yolks, gin, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, 1 tablespoon of food starch and 100 ml cold water until well combined.
Put the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water and beat the mixture until thick and creamy. This can take a while, so do not lose your patience.
Layer the strawberry compote, strawberry cream, and gin cream in four dessert glasses. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Let me know if you liked the Strawberry-Gin Welf Pudding in the comments below.
Carrots and Tigers 