O'Neill's "Purple Heaven" Recipe
Grape Pudding for a Snowy Day
In my novel, The Mermaid's Sister, Clara reminisces about a snowy day she shared with her sister Maren and their best friend O'Neill when they were very young.
Clara says:
When Auntie forced
us inside, we unwrapped ourselves from our layers of woolens and hung them to
dry near the fireplace. And you were the first to notice the heavenly scent of
Auntie’s hot grape pudding. Steaming in our soup bowls, as purple as an Easter
crocus, with dollops of whipped cream melting into froth. I can still taste it
if I close my eyes. Can you?
We ran our spoons around the edges of the
pudding to scoop up the part that had cooled from scalding to merely hot.
O’Neill giggled when he took his first bite. He said it tasted like purple
heaven.
Here's a recipe for grape pudding. It's also called Kram, and my Swedish mother-in-law always made it for her children after the first snowfall of the year. This isn't her secret recipe, though. She's keeping it secret, the little dickens! I was forced to figure it out on my own, with a little help from the internet.
Hot Grape Pudding (Kram)
In a sauce pan, whisk together:
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup sugar
Then whisk in 1/4 cup cold water until the mixture is smooth.
Slowly add 2 cups of grape juice and cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and darkens (about 7 or 8 minutes).
Pour into saucers immediately, and top with whipped cream. Enjoy your "purple heaven!"
Note: The better the quality of the grape juice, the better the pudding will taste!
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