Butterscotch Meringue Pudding

First of all a very Happy Valentines day!! 

I understand its an extremely late post for this special day and I do feel like a slacker. I did try really hard to keep up with the busy schedule and still put in some time to whip up something today. 

It was my daughter's first trial day at day-care and yes, I was extremely anxious to see how she would react and cope when I left her alone among some strangers (even though these strangers were going to be a bunch of real cute toddlers). Our initial plan was to leave her at her class and watch her from the office room CCTV but the moment the classroom door opened, she clinged on to me for dear life and wouldn't let go. All the other children were very friendly and some even came greeting and calling her to play with them, but my little Mikaela was just comfortable holding onto my legs. After an hour of coaxing her with toys and books, we did succeed to get her distracted with a puzzle and I quickly sneaked out to the office room to complete the enrollment forms. In less than 5 minutes, I was summoned back to the classroom since my angel was crying uncontrollably, calling for me. I guess separation is indeed a hard thing for both her and me as I was trying real hard to hold back my tears too by this point. We then spent a few minutes hugging each other and decided we would brave this ordeal together. I went with her to the class and spent another hour there after which I brought her home. I am planning to take her back to school again tomorrow and really hope she takes it better. 

Once we got back home, we made this pudding together and I must admit, it was really fun cooking with her. This recipe was passed on to me from my mom but this is the first time I tried it and we all really loved it, especially my husband :)

Ingredients 
3/4 Cup - Sugar
2 Cups - Milk
3 Tbsp - Corn flour
2 - Eggs (Yolk and white separated)
1 Tbsp - Butter
2 Tbsp - Powdered sugar
1 Tsp - Lemon Juice

Directions

• Separate the egg white and yolk.
• Mix corn flour, egg yolk and milk and keep it aside.
• In a non-stick sauce pan caramelise sugar to a very light colour over slow fire. 
• Add butter to the caramel. 
• Pour milk-cornflour-egg mixture to this and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. When you pour the milk, the caramel will solidify which is normal. It will melt once the mixture heats up.
• After the mixture thickens pour it into a buttered ovenproof dish.
• Beat egg whites with 2 Tbsp powdered sugar until stiff. 
• Add lemon juice in the end when the meringue is thick and spread over the mixture.The meringue should touch all the side of the dish.
• Bake at 350F until the meringue is biscuit colored. It will take approximately 15 minutes.

Notes and Tips

• I made this pudding in a 9*5 inch bread loaf pan.
• You can also make this pudding in individual ramekins. 
• Use a silicon whisk or else you will end up with scratches on your non stick sauce pan.
• Keep an eye on the meringue to make sure it doesn't burn. Avoid sharp peaks as they tend to burn.