Saffron Coconut Pudding

Okay! I got pretty excited about the saffron that I received as a gift. The scent is so beautiful. It’s floral, earthy, tea-like and sweet. I’ve been craving and making batches of coconut pudding lately. They take less than 10 minutes so I thought I would get fancier and add saffron to these puddings. I highly recommend adding cardamom and rose petals to saffron sweets and tea. These three herbs go together so nicely.

2 cups canned coconut milk. If the amount in the can doesn’t quite measure 2 cups you may top it up with a bit of 10% cream.

1 egg yolk

4 tablespoons corn, tapioca or arrowroot starch

1/3 cup sugar

a pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (I make my own by infusing a vanilla pod in some vodka and letting that sit for a few months. Yum!)

2 tablespoons butter

10-12 strands saffron soaked in a tablespoon of the coconut milk that’s been heated

2 cardamom pods, cracked open and shells discarded

1 tablespoon rose petals, finely ground in a spice grinder

Other possibilities: ground almonds or pistachios, raisins

Bloom the saffron by heating 1 tablespoon of the coconut milk and adding the saffron to it in a small bowl. Let that sit while you heat and continually gently whisk the rest of the coconut milk, egg yolk, starch, sugar and salt in a pot on the stove. Heat for 5-6 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the saffron-infused coconut milk, vanilla and butter. Pour into 4 custard cups and sprinkle cardamom, rose petal powder or any other nuts or fruit over each cup. Cool, cover the cups and refrigerate.