Pudim de Leite

The Brazilian crème caramel: sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, and eggs blended and baked in a bain-marie in a ring mould lined with caramelised sugar, chilled, and inverted onto a plate so the caramel sauce flows down the sides. Distinct from European crème caramel and Spanish flan in that the condensed milk gives a denser, sweeter, more concentrated dairy register, and small bubble-holes throughout the custard are considered a feature rather than a flaw; they show the cook used real condensed milk rather than a smooth modern blender preparation. The signature is the dense sweetened-condensed-milk dairy depth, the burnt-sugar caramel sauce, the smooth-but-pock-marked custard texture, and the cooling refreshment of the chilled dessert. The wine must handle the condensed-milk density and the burnt-sugar caramel without being overwhelmed, and must carry enough acidity to keep the pairing from becoming cloying.