Serradura (Macanese Sawdust Pudding) : Asian Food Fest Hong Kong & Macau

When I saw the photo of this dessert on Annie Mok's introductory post to the Asian Food Fest Hong Kong & Macau, I was very interested. It looked so cute in the little plastic tub and I like the name Serradura. Sounds so exotic but it actually means sawdust in Portugese. 

I would like to give my friend support for the event she is hosting and Serradura appears to be something within my humble and limited capabilities. Besides, everyone in the family loves dessert and I can be sure that my efforts will not go to waste.

I googled and spent quite a bit of time oogling at the numerous Serraduras out there. This is a dessert that is very easy to prepare and you can use any form of containers you like be it glass tumblers, small bowls, elegant wine glasses or even plastic cups. I have chosen to use the plastic cups I bought from Tesco as it is convenient and has a cover.

Marie biscuits. Grandma calls it "Mani Pianh". A childhood staple.

You only need 4 ingredients which are whipping cream, Marie biscuits, condensed milk and vanilla. As far as I am concerned, there are 3 pitfalls when attempting this dessert. One is over beating your whipping cream, two is estimating how many containers of Serradura you can make and lastly getting nice even layers (mine were really inconsistent. Not really an issue as I accepted my limitations).

Plastic cups with covers are very convenient.

In true Phong Hong fashion, I fumbled my way through (at 5:00 am in the morning mind you). My more capable and talented sisters (or brothers) will have no problems tackling this dessert and presenting it elegantly. The recipe I used is from The Missing Lokness which was adapted from My Buttery Fingers.

The recipe says that it makes 6 cups and I had no idea how many of my cups would get filled. I needed 8 : 4 for my partner's children, 4 for my partner's sister and her family and 2 for his other sister. I could have done the maths but my brain can't work so early in the morning (math is not my strong suit). And I decided to just go along and see what happens.

My piping nozzle. I just used an ordinary ziploc bag as my piping bag.

OK, let me share with you some tips, not that you talented people need any. It is more for my future reference and also in case there are people like me who are a bit blur hee..hee...

1. Make sure you beat the whipping cream until soft peaks first before adding vanilla and condensed milk (It does say so in the recipe, I just want to emphasize).

2. Then beat the cream for a short while to evenly mix the condensed milk. Have a taste. If it is not sweet enough, add a little more and taste until you are happy. I find that 1/2 cup of condensed milk to 2 cups of whipping cream is just nice and not too sweet.

3. Continue to beat until stiff peaks and then STOP. Don't overbeat because the whipped cream will split and become watery and you will cry. 

4. I find it easier to pipe the whipped cream to get a neat finish. After piping to the thickness you are happy with (for me it was about 1/2 to 1 inch), give your container a gentle tap on your work surface to smooth out the cream.

5. Use a teaspoon to sprinkle the biscuit crumbs onto the cream layer, dropping the crumbs at the edges of the container and then the center. Then give your container another gentle tap to even out the crumbs. The thickness of the crumbs should be enough for you to see the layering between the crumbs and the cream. Repeat till your container is filled, ending with the biscuit crumbs.

Inconsistent layering. Asal sedap, sodah!

Am I being long winded? Getting old, what to do? Anyway, with the original recipe, I did manage 8 not very full cups. My cups have a maximum capacity of 200ml. Six of them were 2/3 filled and the other two only 1/3 filled (one layer of cream and one layer of biscuits). Luckily I had one more carton of whipping cream in the fridge. I made more of the cream and voila! All my 8 cups were generously filled.

All safely stashed in the fridge. Can Phong Hong resist?

And there you go, my first ever Serradura, a dessert I would not have known existed if not for this AFF event. As for the taste and texture, I can only imagine. I tasted the cream and yummy! yummy! it was good. It has been a long time since I had condensed milk. My mum used to refer to it as "Ang Jee Guleng" back in the Susu Cap Junjung days. I can bet this dessert tastes heavenly but I did not eat any because I am on a diet :( Sobbbbsss.........waarrrrghhhhhh......rolling, rolling on the kitchen floor...........)

Serradura (Macanese Sawdust Pudding)
Adapted from : The Missing Lokness

This recipe makes 8 generous 200ml capacity plastic cups (the ones you see up there)

Ingredients :
- 600ml whipping cream
- 40 Marie biscuits
- 3/4 cups condensed milk
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Other tools (optional) :
- a piping bag with a simple nozzle

Method :
1. Crush the Marie biscuits finely using either a food processor or place them in a plastic bag and simply bash them with a rolling pin/pestle (This one is good for anger management)
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks.
3. Add vanilla and condensed milk.
4. Continue to beat until stiff peaks.
5. Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag and pipe about 1 inch thick of cream into each cup. Tap the cups gently to level the cream.
6. Using a teaspoon, sprinkle crushed biscuits onto the cream. Again tap the cup gently to level evenly.
7. Repeat piping the cream over the biscuit layer and continue to layer to desired height, ending with the biscuit crumbs. 
8. Cover the containers and chill in the fridge for a few hours or place in freezer for 4 hours and take out to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

Notes : 
1. Please read the tips in my post above before proceeding.
2. For me, the amount of condensed milk is just nice for a mild sweetness. 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest Hong Kong & Macau hosted by Annie of Annielicious Food.