Custard Nigel Slater: Eating Together


Custard

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When you stand still for a while and watch everyone scurrying about,

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you get a great sense of the richness of modern Britain.

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But I'm naturally nosy too

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and always intrigued to find out more about people's lives.

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There's no better way to do that than getting an invite to lunch.

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'So that's exactly what I'm doing.'

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Salut!

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'I'm going on a delicious tour

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'to meet the rich tapestry of people who make this country home,

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'and find out more about their culture through their food.'

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So beautiful!

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'I want to find out what my favourite British dishes

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'have in common with their foreign cousins.'

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Fabulous smell.

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'For the people I meet, good food is not just about eating well...

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'it can connect them to their roots.'

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So, it's like a classic Iranian sarnie, really.

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Well, it beats cheese and chutney!

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'Food certainly has that effect on me

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'wherever I am in the world.'

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You know, one mouthful of something familiar...

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and you're suddenly back home.

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'I want to share some of my favourite dishes

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'with the people I meet,

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'to celebrate with them what makes them different,

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'but also what brings us together.'

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Yellow heaven.

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Whether an elegant creme brulee, a dollop on a crumble,

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or a slab of custard pie...

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You know, I've always known that custard

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can never be taken too seriously.

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It's yellow and it's wobbly and it's fun.

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But I also know that, for me, it's about nostalgia.

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Those three ingredients - sugar, eggs and milk -

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always seem to take me back to my childhood.

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And I suspect they do for everyone else.

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I'm going to meet three devoted home cooks who will show me

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their recipes that stir sweet memories.

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But before I go anywhere, the dish that started it all for me

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is Dad's Christmas trifle.

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The great thing about this is it all comes from a packet,

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so I can whip it up in an instant.

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There's so many ways to make a trifle.

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But my dad's way was to use shop-bought Swiss roll.

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He was absolutely specific,

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almost pedantic, about the way he made trifle.

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He'd squash it down...

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Can't have gaps(!)

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..and then he used to make a huge deal

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of putting the sherry on.

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And it had to be sweet sherry.

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I'd rather use Marsala now.

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So each bit of sponge got well and truly soaked.

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Maybe a bit more. Just a drop.

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Sometimes it's very grown up,

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and other times it's got jelly in it,

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and it's frivolous, and it's fun, even silly.

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This is getting jelly.

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Straight from the packet, of course.

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Who doesn't want an easy life?

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What I want is sort of an inner layer of jelly.

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And then into the fridge to set.

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I sometimes think the whole point of making a trifle

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is for the layer of custard.

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Of course, there is a time and place for custard from scratch.

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Dad's trifle isn't it.

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And because he used powdered, so am I.

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My father was so fussy about the lumps.

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He had to get them all out.

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Pour in some hot milk.

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Now, crucially, the pan has to be clean

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before the custard goes back in.

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This stops the custard from sticking.

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As a kid, I used to love doing this.

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It was like magic.

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One minute, the custard was all thin and watery,

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and the next minute, it was all thick and silky.

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It's going!

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It's like being nine again.

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But it wasn't just custard that went on our trifle.

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It was banana custard.

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Is there any recipe in the world that is more soothing

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than a bowl of banana custard?

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Let the custard cool, then dollop a generous layer onto the jelly.

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Now whisk whipping cream until it's light and frothy.

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The layers must be thick. It's all about generosity.

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Frivolity.

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Now the decoration.

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I'm toasting these almonds,

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partly because I want them to be crisp.

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You've got layers and layers and layers of softness,

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and you just need that little bit of crunch.

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I'm sorry, but there has to be cherries.

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Angelica too.

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Angelica's just the crystallised stem of the Angelica plant.

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And one of our family rules was no silver balls.

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But hey, everyone has their own traditions.

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Layer after layer of joy.

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Sponge, sherry, cream and fruit...

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lots of nuts, cherries and angelica...

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and best of all...

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a thick layer of custard.

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Trifle says old classic Britain to me -

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Boxing Day buffets and big family gatherings...

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So what delights will I discover in modern Britain

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that bring out the child in other people?

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I don't know very much about Iraqi food,

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but its ancient and aromatic flavours

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are what take Linda back to her childhood in Baghdad.

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-Welcome, welcome. Nice to see you.

-Thank you very much.

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You know, for people like us, who moved from one country to another,

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and especially... I came to England when I was quite young...

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I remember my father wanted us to integrate,

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so he said, "No more Arabic", after about six months.

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So, I still speak it and can write it a bit,

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but I've lost most of it,

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and so what remains is taste.

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It's another language.

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I love new flavours, I love eating things I've never eaten before,

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but there is that moment when it reminds you

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-of something from your past, from another time.

-Sure.

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The Baghdad of Linda's childhood was a happy place,

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with picnics on the banks of the Tigris and family celebrations.

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This is me and my brother...

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and that is the Tigris river.

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Linda's great-grandfather was the Chief Rabbi of Iraq,

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but it's not just her past she's clinging to,

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it's the heritage of her entire culture.

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We are Babylonian Jews.

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We are Iraqi...

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-but Babylonian Jews.

-OK.

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Up to the '40s, a third of Baghdad was Jewish.

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-We were a very, very big community.

-Yeah.

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In 1958, everything changed.

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There was a revolution, and minorities were targeted,

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and rising anti-Semitism made it dangerous

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for Jewish communities to stay in Baghdad.

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Most families left, and today, almost no Babylonian Jews remain.

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It's very, very sad to know that my mother country

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does not want me any more.

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It's very hard - it's like being an orphan, almost.

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And that really is how I felt for a very long time.

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-It was a real pain.

-No, of course.

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So when we cook and when I do this, it's like...

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It's joy, it's joy.

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It's like making a little world again, you know?

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We're a big family,

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and whenever we have festivities, we always cook quite a lot.

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So the taste continues from one generation to the next.

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'Linda has a huge repertoire of traditional dishes,

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'and of all her recipes,

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'the one I really want to make is a custard called muhallebi.

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'Rather than whole milk and eggs,

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'Linda makes a light version with almond milk and cornflour.'

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You have to make sure that all the lumps have been crushed out.

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'It's already reminding me of my dad's custard.

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'But as well as vanilla,

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'she adds fragrant Middle Eastern flavours -

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'rose-water and cardamom.

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'Just like my custard, this is really simple,

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'and this heavenly mix of milk and spices

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'takes Linda straight back to being a kid.'

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We used to go to my maternal grandmother every Saturday.

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She was the best cook ever.

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This was the first time I saw this pudding being made,

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and it was so lovely, because the aromas,

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especially of the cardamom and the rose-water...

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It was wonderful.

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And that was my first encounter of muhallebi.

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Off you go.

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-And this will set in about three hours.

-Really?

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You can cut it like a cake.

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'On top of that fragrant rose-water custard

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'goes a layer of ground almonds, pistachios and some more cardamom.'

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You know, Linda, I know that this has to set...

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-Yes.

-..but I am nothing if not impatient...

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-Could...? Oh, bless you. Do you mind?

-No.

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-It's so soothing.

-Yeah.

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It's quite blissful.

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Blissful.

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'As well as muhallebi,

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'Linda has made a feast of other Iraqi flavours she treasures.

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'She's given me some new ideas,

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'but to her, it's about keeping old recipes alive

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'for the next generation...'

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-Nigel, this is Daniel.

-Hi there.

-Hi, Nigel.

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'..like her cousin Daniel, who's come to join us.'

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Thank you.

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Better cold or hot?

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-Oh, cold.

-Yeah.

-Oh, really?

-This is so lovely.

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And unexpected.

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You know, I thought I knew

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every possible custard dessert there was...

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and I didn't.

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Just as my trifle transports me back to childhood,

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Linda's muhallebi does the same for her.

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I may well have grown up with the powdered stuff,

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but once I tasted custard made from scratch,

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I discovered what a truly magical dish it is...

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Simple ingredients with show stopping qualities...

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The classic French iles flottantes,

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or "floating islands",

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is custard at its sophisticated best.

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Take four egg yolks and one whole egg.

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Add sugar, and whisk.

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Infuse vanilla seeds in a pan of warm milk.

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Pour into the egg mix, and return to the pan to thicken.

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Then leave to cool.

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Now the meringue islands...

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Whisk the leftover whites

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and slowly add the sugar until they form stiff peaks.

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Take a large spoonful and poach in warm milk for eight minutes,

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flipping it over halfway through.

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Remove the meringue from the milk,

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and float on top of the luxurious vanilla custard.

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A few toasted almonds

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and a simple caramel made from sugar and water

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give these few eggs and milk a delightful finish.

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Voila. Iles flottantes.

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'It isn't just me that's custard crazy,

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'walk down any high street and you find bakers and patisseries

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'selling vast arrays of custard pastries.'

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Little passion-fruit curd tarts!

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Over the last few years,

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Britain has begun a love affair with Portuguese custard tarts.

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And I've found just the person to show me how to make them.

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Bruno grew up in Portugal

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and then came to Britain ten years ago.

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-Pleased to meet you, come in.

-Nice to meet you, too.

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'After working shifts in factories,

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'his childhood infatuation with baking turned his fortunes,

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'and he opened a bakery in Wales.'

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So, what have you got in your bag?

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Right, so we've got lemons, cinnamon. You know?

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-Oh, you've brought your little tart cases!

-I did.

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-I bring them from Portugal actually.

-Oh, beautiful.

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I don't know if you can buy them over here.

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-No, you can buy something very similar, but not quite.

-Right.

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That's the marge we will use to do our pastry.

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-Margarine?

-Yeah.

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OK.

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-It's a stranger to my kitchen.

-BRUNO CHUCKLES

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Pastel de natas is a puff pastry case filled with custard,

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baked quickly until the custard turns golden brown.

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-So...

-So, where do we start?

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I will need a pan, please, for you to do me the sugar mix.

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-So, sugar mix is for what?

-That's in our custard, yeah?

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But we're going to make it separate. As a separate mix.

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Yeah. You're being a bit mysterious, I quite like this.

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'Bruno sticks to the old traditional method of making the custard.'

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Don't do anything without me! I don't want to miss anything!

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'He makes sugar syrup first, infusing it

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'with the subtle flavours of lemon and cinnamon

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'which will give the custard that distinctly Portuguese touch.'

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I used to watch,

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when I was in school, a baker.

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It was interesting. I always watch him, how he was doing.

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A lot of people now, they just use this syrup,

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they actually don't make it.

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They just do everything together with the milk, cinnamon, lemon.

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OK, throw it in, all-in-one. The all-in-one method.

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And people love my ones. Hopefully, you will like them, as well.

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I'm sure I will.

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Smell that lemon and cinnamon.

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It's beautiful, isn't it?

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'That flaky puff pastry is the other thing

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'that makes pastel de natas so unique. Bruno makes his own.'

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That's all. And then...

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My mum used to put a bit of salt in her pastry.

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-It gives a bit of the crust on the outside.

-Yep.

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Ah, that's looking really nice now, isn't it?

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-We've got to stop.

-OK.

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'Puff pastry is a labour of love.

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'A slab of butter on the rolled out dough is folded in,

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'and then it takes a lot of rolling.'

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-Do you trust me to have a go?

-Yeah, of course you can have a go.

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Oh, this is coming back to me!

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You know, I've got my cookery teacher over my shoulder now!

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I can feel her, she's come back to haunt me.

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'Bruno speaks the language of baking fluently

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'and it's proved to be his lifeline since he moved to the UK.'

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I couldn't speak any English when I came from Portugal.

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That's a brave thing to do,

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to suddenly turn up somewhere where you can't speak the language!

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How did you get into this?

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How did Portuguese tarts come in?

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It was a bit difficult to me in the beginning

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for people to accept, obviously, I was not British,

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So, I had to fight my corner because I was from different country.

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So, I start to make them and advertise them, you know,

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in shops, telling people, and then people start to come.

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-So, word of mouth, everybody passed it on?

-Exactly.

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'Now for Bruno's thick custard.'

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-It's coming.

-Here it comes!

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-It's like a volcano when it explodes!

-Exactly!

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'Hot milk goes into a mix of flour and cornflour,

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'and then in goes the comforting lemon and cinnamon sugar syrup,

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'but the real richness comes from the eggs.'

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-If you could separate 15 egg yolks, we will need...

-15 egg yolks?!

-15.

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I'm just thinking of the hundreds of thousands

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-of custard tarts sold in Portugal.

-Yeah.

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What do they do with all the whites?

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Well, you can use the whites to do all sorts of different cakes,

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so they don't waste.

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-Beautiful colour!

-Yeah.

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Amazing gold!

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'This type of custard is serious business in Portugal.'

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I've just actually been in Portugal now,

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and my aunt and my mother, they was fighting with me.

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"Oh, you think yours is better?

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"You've got to come to my house and try my ones!" You know?

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-So, we all are like fighting there!

-The custard tart wars!

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'While that gorgeous custard cools,

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'Bruno shows me his secret to the perfect flaky tart cases.'

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-And then roll your dough and you can see.

-And there's all the layers...

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-All the layers there.

-..round and round and round in there.

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So now, we use two thumbs,

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press the centre.

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And push outwards.

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And push outwards.

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I like doing this.

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'You almost need an inferno to cook these to perfection.

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'Whack up the oven as hot as it will go

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'so you get that signature dark, sweet glaze.'

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I'm getting really excited.

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This is going to be the longest 15 minutes of my life.

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Yeah, it's probably going to take a bit longer.

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-The longest 20 minutes of my life.

-Before it's done.

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There you go.

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Then we have our Portuguese custard tarts.

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If you want me to get just the spraying water?

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I wasn't sure what you were going to do with this.

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'And a finishing flourish!'

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-Oh, beautiful!

-Gives a bit of a shine to the colour, you see?

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And done. I can't wait for this.

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It's heaven.

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Very, very nice.

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You know, I've never ever had one so freshly baked.

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-Well, you have it now.

-It is just sensational.

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Bruno's tarts say everything about his perseverance

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to make a success of his life in Britain.

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He's baked his way into the hearts of his Welsh neighbours,

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and into mine.

0:18:000:18:01

I'm a very, very, very happy man.

0:18:020:18:04

Custard has a habit of putting a smile on your face.

0:18:080:18:12

I'm on a hunt for some exotic inspiration

0:18:120:18:14

to take me as far from banana custard as I can go.

0:18:140:18:18

'Helen was born in Malaysia to Chinese parents.

0:18:180:18:21

'The custard she dreams about is bold...'

0:18:210:18:24

Wonderful smell when you walk in!

0:18:240:18:26

'..and needs some very intriguing ingredients.'

0:18:260:18:29

Here's the butterfly pea flowers

0:18:290:18:30

-that we're going to be using for the cake.

-So, this is charming.

0:18:300:18:34

It grows in Asia, prolifically, along sort of back fences,

0:18:340:18:38

and it's only become recently available,

0:18:380:18:41

that I've seen it, in dried form.

0:18:410:18:43

I was very encouraged to make this dish as soon as I saw that.

0:18:430:18:46

I love it when I find ingredients I genuinely have never seen before.

0:18:460:18:49

What else do we need?

0:18:490:18:51

-We need pandan leaves.

-Oh, I've seen those.

0:18:510:18:54

Yeah, it's known as the vanilla of the East.

0:18:540:18:56

We need some more banana leaves,

0:18:560:18:58

I line the cake pan with the banana leaves.

0:18:580:19:00

It's almost 40 years since Helen lived in Malaysia,

0:19:000:19:03

and even though 30 of those were spent in Australia,

0:19:030:19:07

the food she turns to most is that of her childhood.

0:19:070:19:11

I want to find out why Malaysian food is so special to her.

0:19:110:19:15

-Let's go and make magic.

-Yes!

0:19:150:19:17

'Her idea of custard heaven is not yellow...

0:19:170:19:21

'but green.'

0:19:210:19:22

Tell me about this dish that we're doing today.

0:19:220:19:25

There are two parts to the dish. The custard part is called kaya.

0:19:250:19:28

In Malay, in means "rich" so it's essentially a rich custard spread

0:19:280:19:32

-that's spread on cake, eaten by the spoonful, out of the jar.

-Yup.

0:19:320:19:35

My memory of it is with sweet rice cakes.

0:19:350:19:39

'Helen's blue flowers aren't here for flavour.

0:19:390:19:43

'She's going to use them to colour the rice.'

0:19:430:19:45

The first thing to do is to extract the colour out of it, or infuse it.

0:19:450:19:49

So, ideally, you'd put it over low heat.

0:19:490:19:52

-Oh, that's such... Gosh, that's really inky!

-Yes, isn't it?

0:19:530:19:56

Well, I love it, but of course, blue is always associated with poison.

0:19:560:19:59

And maybe also the idea that it could be poison,

0:19:590:20:02

there's a slight danger which heightens the sense of enjoyment.

0:20:020:20:06

'The blue pea flower stirs many memories for Helen.

0:20:060:20:10

'As a child she was fostered for a time,

0:20:100:20:12

'and though it resulted in two loving families, it wasn't easy.'

0:20:120:20:17

The year I was born was considered very unlucky

0:20:180:20:20

in the Chinese astrological calendar.

0:20:200:20:23

And my mother was quite superstitious,

0:20:230:20:25

she sought consult with the temple priests

0:20:250:20:27

and was told that to avert sort of disaster and bad omens

0:20:270:20:31

that was going to befall on the family

0:20:310:20:33

that she would have to sort of send me away

0:20:330:20:35

for some unspecified period of time.

0:20:350:20:37

There was a time that it was difficult for me,

0:20:370:20:40

but I think, over the years, I've come to see how fortunate I've been

0:20:400:20:44

to have belonged to two wonderful families.

0:20:440:20:46

My biological family and my foster family with seven siblings...

0:20:460:20:51

-Wow, OK.

-..and who I still keep in touch with.

0:20:510:20:54

'Helen's foster family was very poor,

0:20:550:20:57

'and this rice and custard dish was a way of making something special

0:20:570:21:02

'and comforting from very basic ingredients.

0:21:020:21:06

'It was made with love, and that has clearly stuck with Helen.'

0:21:060:21:09

-It strikes a deep emotional chord.

-Absolutely. Food does this.

0:21:100:21:13

Food, I think, gets to some people's emotions more than others.

0:21:130:21:17

It certainly does with me. It just does that,

0:21:170:21:20

-almost more than anything else.

-Yes.

0:21:200:21:22

'Just as her foster mother did,

0:21:220:21:24

'Helen binds the rice cakes with coconut milk,

0:21:240:21:27

'then the blue and the white rice are steamed separately.

0:21:270:21:31

'Now for the pandan leaves,

0:21:320:21:34

'the juice will be the vibrant showstopper in Helen's custard.'

0:21:340:21:38

What a crazy colour!

0:21:410:21:42

-I know, it's just like bright green!

-Amazing green!

0:21:420:21:45

'She adds coconut milk and warms the mixture through.'

0:21:450:21:48

-So, almost to a boil.

-Almost to a boil.

0:21:480:21:51

-Exactly as I would, if I was making custard.

-Yes, exactly.

0:21:510:21:53

'And then it's whisked it into the very familiar eggs and sugar.'

0:21:530:21:57

-Oh, this is great!

-Stir it in.

0:21:570:21:59

Oh, heavens!

0:22:020:22:04

What does that remind you of? What's that reaction?

0:22:040:22:06

-It's just so fresh and green.

-Yeah.

-It's very grassy.

-It is, yes.

0:22:060:22:10

That is just so, so good.

0:22:100:22:12

Cooking is not always just about getting something on the table

0:22:120:22:15

at the end of the day. You know, it's about the joy of it,

0:22:150:22:17

sometimes the silliness of it - green custard.

0:22:170:22:21

'While the custard cools,

0:22:210:22:22

'the rice is now steamed and needs fluffing

0:22:220:22:25

before we assemble it into a cake tin.'

0:22:250:22:28

-You know what I'm smelling?

-Hm?

-I'm smelling home..

0:22:280:22:31

-I'm smelling...

-Really?

-..walking in after school...

-Really?

0:22:310:22:34

..in my blazer and smelling that there's a rice pudding in the oven.

0:22:340:22:37

For me, it's love.

0:22:370:22:39

Comfort and love. You know?

0:22:390:22:42

-SHE CHUCKLES

-It's love for me, too.

-Yeah.

0:22:420:22:44

I'm just thinking this is the sort of thing

0:22:440:22:47

-that would be huge fun to do with the kids.

-Yes, yes.

0:22:470:22:50

Well, in fact this pod here, my son regularly stands here,

0:22:500:22:54

and watches me cook and occasionally, if he's getting restless,

0:22:540:22:57

I'll get him stirring something.

0:22:570:22:58

So, I do hope one day he'll say,

0:22:580:23:00

"Oh, yes, I learned to cook at my mother's side."

0:23:000:23:02

-You only pick up good things from cooking with your mum.

-Yeah.

0:23:020:23:06

OK, shall we cut up the rice?

0:23:060:23:09

This colouring, we're not talking about some chemical,

0:23:090:23:12

-we're talking about flowers!

-Flowers, yes!

0:23:120:23:15

-Shall I get the custard out?

-Yes, please!

0:23:150:23:18

'If my custard is liquid gold,

0:23:180:23:20

'then this...is pureed childhood.

0:23:200:23:23

'What's not to like about a blue and white coconut rice cake

0:23:230:23:26

'with a dollop of sweet emerald custard?

0:23:260:23:30

'Perfect for all ages!

0:23:300:23:31

'Even big kids like me!'

0:23:310:23:34

It's as I remember.

0:23:340:23:35

This is bliss.

0:23:370:23:39

This is utterly, utterly enchanting.

0:23:390:23:43

Because it's fun and it's different,

0:23:430:23:44

and it's taken me way out of my comfort zone.

0:23:440:23:46

You think it's going to taste something utterly sort of foreign,

0:23:460:23:49

and yet, it's actually not foreign at all in the taste.

0:23:490:23:52

-It's home and abroad. Can I have a bit more?

-Of course, yeah!

0:23:520:23:56

'And now, Helen's childhood food is being shared with her friends

0:23:560:24:00

'and with her son, passed to the next generation.'

0:24:000:24:03

KIDS CHATTER

0:24:030:24:06

I'm full of mango!

0:24:080:24:10

ALL LAUGH

0:24:100:24:12

You know, inspiration comes from all sorts of places.

0:24:120:24:15

It started off in a point of absolute safety.

0:24:180:24:21

You know where you are with banana custard.

0:24:210:24:23

And then, the idea of the rose water coming in and the almond milk.

0:24:230:24:26

And now with this, all these exciting flavours

0:24:260:24:29

that I didn't know, ingredients that I've never seen before.

0:24:290:24:32

I want to do something completely new and different

0:24:330:24:35

and I don't know where it's going to fall.

0:24:350:24:38

Either in a place of safety and comfort, or whether

0:24:380:24:40

it's going to be an absolute adventure.

0:24:400:24:42

CHATTERING

0:24:420:24:44

LAUGHTER

0:24:460:24:49

From green kaya,

0:24:490:24:50

fragrant mahallebi,

0:24:500:24:52

to pastel de nata,

0:24:520:24:54

custard captures your taste buds as a kid,

0:24:540:24:57

wherever you grow up, and you never forget.

0:24:570:25:00

I want to combine the comfort of home

0:25:000:25:03

with the contrast of something a bit more exotic

0:25:030:25:05

and profiteroles will make the perfect shell

0:25:050:25:09

for my custard to sit in.

0:25:090:25:10

First of all, I need to make choux pastry.

0:25:100:25:14

250ml of water, some butter,

0:25:140:25:17

I'm just going to put in a pinch of salt.

0:25:170:25:20

150g of plain flour.

0:25:200:25:22

My recipe for choux pastry makes the lightest,

0:25:220:25:26

airiest and crisp buns,

0:25:260:25:28

which should rise dramatically in the oven.

0:25:280:25:31

Now, I'm very fond of making these and they usually work.

0:25:330:25:37

Pour the egg in a little bit at a time.

0:25:390:25:42

Just basically keep going, until the mixture actually shines.

0:25:430:25:47

A little patience is required.

0:25:470:25:50

Choux buns of any shape or size are a real treat,

0:25:540:25:59

but the real treasure lies inside.

0:25:590:26:01

And it can be cream or it can be chocolate

0:26:020:26:05

but with me, it's custard.

0:26:050:26:07

I'm going to give those about 25 minutes.

0:26:070:26:10

And now to make the filling. My cheats' custard.

0:26:100:26:13

This is a great recipe for people who love custard,

0:26:130:26:17

but are scared to make it in case it goes wrong.

0:26:170:26:20

It's easy to make and it won't curdle.

0:26:200:26:22

Whisk four egg yolks,

0:26:220:26:24

four tablespoons of sugar and vanilla seeds.

0:26:240:26:28

Smells like custard already.

0:26:280:26:30

I loved it when Helen took a basic custard

0:26:330:26:35

and flavoured it with something unusual.

0:26:350:26:38

I'm using Marsala, a fortified wine

0:26:380:26:41

that will give my custard a real kick.

0:26:410:26:43

Now, what I'm after is a really thick custard,

0:26:430:26:46

one that I can use for stuffing those cream buns,

0:26:460:26:49

and for that, I'm using mascarpone.

0:26:490:26:51

Tastes just like a wonderfully complex custard filling

0:26:570:27:01

but somehow even better.

0:27:010:27:02

The choux buns, meanwhile,

0:27:020:27:04

have risen beautifully.

0:27:040:27:06

I'm going to split them and get a spoonful of custard

0:27:100:27:14

and just drop it...

0:27:140:27:15

..into the bun.

0:27:170:27:18

No profiterole can be complete without a trickle of chocolate.

0:27:180:27:23

I'm melting both dark..and white.

0:27:230:27:27

This is ridiculous. Absolute ridiculous good fun.

0:27:300:27:33

So I've got the crisp case

0:27:330:27:36

and the soft filling from Bruno.

0:27:360:27:40

I've got this flavoured custard which is an idea I got from Helen.

0:27:400:27:43

Then that just heavenly mixture

0:27:430:27:48

of pistachio and rose that I picked up from Linda.

0:27:480:27:51

And to go with these crystallised rose petals,

0:27:510:27:55

another touch of the English countryside, crystallised violets.

0:27:550:28:01

Just a few here and there.

0:28:010:28:03

My profiteroles have been influenced by custard recipes

0:28:040:28:07

from all over the world,

0:28:070:28:09

all so different, yet reassuringly familiar.

0:28:090:28:14

And I want to share them with the people who have inspired me,

0:28:140:28:18

so, I've invited Bruno, Linda, Helen and their families

0:28:180:28:22

to join me for a feast to say thank you.

0:28:220:28:25

Cooking up a dash of my style with a pinch of theirs, too.

0:28:250:28:29

-It that delicious?

-It is.

0:28:290:28:31

A celebration of modern Britain.

0:28:310:28:34

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