Pudim is the Portuguese word for pudding, and in Brazil it points to one thing in particular: a baked custard turned out of its tin so the dark caramel runs back down the sides. Dhi Ferrari grew up with it in Rio de Janeiro, and the Pudim Caramel Flan in our cabinet at The Welder is the version he makes in Christchurch, made as a single serving.
If you are the one in your circle who chooses where everybody goes, this is a useful thing to have in your pocket. Most of your guests will not have eaten it before, it costs less than a coffee and a slice together, and it arrives with a story already attached.
Where it parts company with creme caramel
The French creme caramel and the Brazilian pudim begin from the same idea. Custard is baked over caramel, chilled, then inverted so the syrup becomes the glaze. They separate on texture. A creme caramel is built to wobble; pudim is built to be dense.
Ours is slow-baked, which gives the caramel time to develop its deeper, more complex notes and to set over the outside as a golden syrup. The custard beneath is rich and velvety rather than airy, holding a clean edge when the spoon goes in before turning smooth on the tongue. The whole thing rests on a balance between the milky sweetness of the custard and the slightly bitter edge of the dark caramel, and that bitterness is the point. Without it you would be left with one flat note of sweet.
That is a fair summary of how Dhi thinks: focus on flavour instead of sweetness, and invite people to try.
How it sits in the cabinet
Pudim lives with the rest of our mini desserts, every one of which is a single serving rather than something you slice up. At $10 it is the entry point to that shelf. The Lemon Tart, the Black and White Chocolate Mousse, the Romeo and Juliet Cheesecake and the Ferrari Rocher sit along the same shelf.
Which gives you a reason to come with somebody rather than alone. Order two different desserts, halve both, and swap. A pudim and a Ferrari Rocher between two people covers opposite ends of the cabinet: one cool, milky and caramelised, the other a flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake under a shell of dark chocolate and roasted almonds. Alone you have to pick one. With a second person you never do.
What to drink alongside it
Cold caramel and hot espresso are an old pairing, and it works here. Our hot coffee uses the C4 Coffee Co Terra Nova fair trade organic blend from a Christchurch roaster. If you would rather not have caffeine late in the day, the Zealong Teapot for One comes from the only tea plantation in New Zealand, up in the Waikato, with caffeine-free chamomile and lavender among the varieties. There is more on that pairing in our piece on coffee and cake in Christchurch.
A word about gluten
The pudim is made with no added gluten, as are the lemon tart, the Romeo and Juliet cheesecake, the Black and White mousse and the Apple Pie. They are grouped together in No Added Gluten Cakes and Desserts, and we have written about that range at greater length here. Two caveats, both honest. New Zealand labelling rules mean we can only state that we have not added any gluten-containing ingredients, rather than make a claim about the finished dessert. And our kitchen is small and without exclusive production areas for all of our different recipes, so traces may occur and nothing we make is guaranteed safe for severe coeliac disease.
Ordering and collecting
Cabinet desserts and drinks need no notice at all. Walk into the patisserie, see what is on the shelf that day, and take it with a coffee. If you want to be certain a particular dessert is set aside for you, order it online instead: the checkout date picker only offers dates the kitchen can actually meet, and most of the range works to a two-day lead time, with three days on the larger desserts and seven on petit fours. Pieces such as the brigadeiro can simply be added at the counter.
Everything is collection only, from our patisserie inside The Welder at 20-26 Welles Street in central Christchurch, one block south of the Bus Interchange. There is parking across the road and behind the building, and bike racks at the side entrance. We are open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 3pm Saturday. Our piece on why we chose The Welder explains how the building works.
