Most Armenian dessert recipes are Middle Eastern classics such as baklava, bourma and knafe. I'm not a big fan of this delicacies so I tried to find a recipe for something a little bit different and that would conform more to what we consider dessert. I came across this recipe for Royal Armenian pudding and it seemed to fit the bill.

It's an interesting dessert, though not one I'd make again. It tasted OK, but it was a little bit too heavy, too "nutty". The strawberry sauce also didn't work for me, I just couldn't get the egg to stiffen (though there was a probably some fault with my technique). Most of my guests (and I) only had a couple of bites of the pudding, though a couple ate about half. I'd advise that if you make it, serve it in very small portions.

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Royal Armenian pudding

Ingredients

For the Pudding

1/4 lb. blanched almonds, ground

1/4 lb. pine nuts, ground

1/4 lb. hazel nuts, ground

1/4 lb. blanched walnuts, ground

4 tbsp. butter

1 cup sugar

5 cups milk

2 tbsp. cornstarch

For the Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg white

1 tbsp. butter

1 cup crushed strawberries

Instructions

Bring milk to a bail in a 3-quart saucepan. Add nuts and mix. Simmer for 1/2 hour. Add sugar and butter. Cook 10 minutes and remove from heat.

Dilute cornistarch in 1/2 cup of water and pour into the milk/nut misture. Stir quickly and return to heat. Cook for 10 more minutes at very low hit. Pour into individual bowls.

Make sauce by mixing 1/4 cup of sugar with the butter. In a separate bowl beat the egg white with 1/4 cup of sugar. When the egg become stiff add the sugar/butter mixture and mix. Fold crushed strawberries into the mixture. Pour over the pudding and serve.

Adapted from: Adventures in Armenian Cooking.