Loquat Pit Almond Tofu Custard - Loquat

Method

• Take the seeds out of the loquat fruit.
• Wash the kernels well, and make several cuts in them using a knife or kitchen scissors.
• You can peel the kernels easily with your fingernails from those cuts.
• Peel about 2 kernels.
• (There's no need to dry the seeds.)
• The key point here is the number of kernels used.
• Loquat seeds contain amygdalin.
• It's fine to consume a tiny amount in a day, but you should not consume too much.
• Do not eat more than 3 kernels at a time.
• Grate the peeled kernels using a fine tooth grater.
• (You can also pulverize them in a food processor or blender.)
• You can already smell the bitter almond aroma at this point.
• You only need a small amount.
• If it's too much work to grate the kernels, put them in a small plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, or chop them up very finely with a knife.
• Put the milk, fresh cream (and skim milk powder or condensed milk) in a pan.
• Add the grated kernels.
• Heat until it's just about to boil.
• Turn the heat off and leave the pan as is for a while.
• (This is to let the aroma permeate the liquid.)
• Preheat the oven to 170C, and boil the water for the water bath.
• While the oven is preheating and the milk-cream liquid being infused with the loquat seeds, beat the eggs and sugar together (remove the membrane from the eggs first) until the mixture turns pale yellow.
• You can use whole eggs or just the yolks.
• (If you want the pudding to be very rich and creamy, just use yolks.
• If you want it to set firmly, use whole eggs.)
• Strain the infused milk-cream mixture from Step 6 through a strainer or sieve.
• (skip this step if you'd like to take in all of the nutritional value of the kernels and the texture as well.)
• Combine the Step 7 egg-sugar mixture with the Step 9 liquid.
• Mix well and pour into the mold.
• Pour 60C or so hot water into an oven tray, and put it with the pudding mold into the oven.
• Bake in the water bath at 160C for 40 to 45 minutes.
• If using a microwave: Put the mold in a larger container filled with hot water, and cover with plastic wrap.
• Microwave for 5 minutes at 600 W.
• You're all done.
• The creamy pudding has the fragrance of apricot pits.
• Although it's a very rich pudding, the aftertaste is very light and elegant.
• You can enjoy this with the fruit of the loquat too.
• For a version made with gelatin that's set in the refrigerator.