Lisa Messinger's
Cookbook Corner

The Art of Romanian Cooking
by Galia Sperber (Pelican)

WALNUT BUDINCA (PUDDING)
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3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs (separated)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup ground walnuts (soaked in 1 cup milk)
3 tablespoons ground walnuts
Confectioners' (powdered) sugar, for dusting
Chocolate glaze:
1 cup milk
1 vanilla pod
5 egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Yields 4 servings.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks (one at a time). Add the flour and soaked walnuts. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold that and the rest of the walnuts into the mixture.

Pour into a pudding dish dusted with confectioners' sugar, cover with a plate or lid and bake “au bain marie” (cooking in a hot water bath; the dish is lowered into a wide ovenproof pan containing water and all of this then goes in the oven) for 30 minutes at 350 F.

To prepare glaze: Heat the milk and vanilla in a saucepan over high heat until boiling. Remove from heat and cover. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar. Pour into the warm milk. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep beating throughout, until it begins to thicken and comes to the boil. Then quickly remove from heat and mix in the cocoa powder until uniform. Cover the budinca (pudding) with the glaze.