Picnic Day: Ozark Pudding!

Yay, it’s Months of Edible Celebrations Picnic Day again! I’m going on a picnic, and I’m bringing…

• Artichokes Steamed and Dressed with Mayonnaise (Mae’s Food Blog)
• Baked Beans (Moveable Feasts)
• Cauliflower Tabbouleh (Bookcase Foodie)
• Dunkin’ Donuts ~ With Maple syrup & Honey Frosting (My Little Space)
• Eggplant Casserole (Yummy Chunklet)
• Frosty Summer Salad with Cranberry, Pineapple & Beets (Olla-Podrida)
• Goat Cheese Mixed Green Salad with Cocoa Nibs (Dying for Chocolate)
• Halibut and Salsa Verde (Squirrel Head Manor)
• Iced Coffee Two Ways (Art of Natural Living)
• Jubilee Sandwich (Kulinarische Zeitreise)
• Key Lime and Ambarella Juice (Riceball Eats)
• Limoncello Pine Nut Biscotti (Bakeaway with Me)
• Mini Meringue Kisses (The more than occasional baker)
• Nougat Brownies (I-Lost in Austen)
• Ozark Pudding!

Ozark Pudding, also known as Huguenot Torte, is an conglomeration of eggs, sugar, apples, and pecans. The final result isn’t really a squishy pudding, or a cake-like torte, rather it’s something more unique. But I’m getting ahead of myself! This is actually my second “attempt” at making Ozark Pudding — I made it last Wednesday, and thought it was so delicious and fun that I just HAD to “bring” it to the Picnic.

I first learned of this dessert from historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman of Four Pounds Flour. Its history is somewhat inscrutable — the “Huguenot Torte” name from the 50’s refers to a restaurant rather than French Huguenots, and it was discovered in Texas (as “Ozark Pudding”) around the 30’s, so it presumably is older than that.

But I don’t really care all that much, because it’s just pure yum.

Huguenot Torte (1930s)
Ingredients taken from The First Ladies’ Cookbook (1965)
Directions inspired by Cuisine at Homemagazine (2009)

1 cup peeled and chopped tart cooking apples
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, mixed with
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon almond extract.

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish; or line it with parchment paper.

2. Beats eggs and vanilla at high speed. Add the sugar a little at a time, until the eggs are light and creamy, about five minutes.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into egg mixture until just combined.

4. Fold in apple and pecans.

5. Pour into baking dish. Bake torte 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool five minutes and serve warm, cut into squares, topped with almond whipped cream.

I like a lot of apples in this, personally — make it a heaping cup of apple. 3 medium apples does nicely.

Beating the sugar into the eggs is fun, because…

When you beat eggs for five minutes, they undergo an impressive transformation. Light and creamy indeed!

Be amazed at how little flour is going into this. (And I think you could easily make this gluten-free by using an alternative, like some finely ground almonds.)

You’ll need the five minutes of egg-beating time to chop up the apples and pecans, which is the most time consuming part of this recipe. (And these are both easy things to cut up, so that should help you realize how easy the whole dish is.) Be generous with these ingredients.

Finally, the apples and pecans go in.

Stir it all up and pour it into your casserole dish.

This is the sort of thing you want to watch while it’s in the oven, because it starts puffing up A LOT towards the end of the bake time.

After it comes out, it slooooooooowly deflates, and the top cracks as it sinks.

You can’t avoid cracked, crumbly chunks on top, but that is completely OK. Those delicious crunchy bits are delicious. It’s the tasty crust on top of an apple-pecan pie that has been baked upside down.

This definitely does need some whipped cream (or ice cream, or even Cool Whip) on top to round out the flavors, or else it can easily be too sweet. (Serve it with a nice cool glass of hard cider for further delightful apple-y contrasts, and further memories of fall.)

I think this is a really great dessert — it has lots of textures, and a complex array of flavors. Despite its long history, it seems innovative and unexpected. The apple and pecans (which I can imagine swapping for other fruit/nut combinations, like pear/almond?) are nicely complimented by the surrounding goo, and it tastes like fall.

Happy Picnic Day, and enjoy this virtual serving of Ozark Pudding!