The Style Of The Queen Pudding
I admit to being slightly devious when naming this recipe, as I wanted to attract both the many people who like
Queen of Puddings and those who are less enamoured. Members of both camps who have tried this recipe have all
become fans of it. The changes are subtle: I use an enriched bread, such as brioche; a little single cream in place of some of the milk; plenty of lemon, but not too much; and a very good, high fruit content raspberry jam, often labelled as a 'conserve', which I boost with pureed raspberries for a fresher flavour or with eau-de-vie de framboise.
INGREDIENTS:
425 ML/ 15 FL OZ. MILK
150 ML/5 FL OZ SINGLE CREAM 6 40 Gll 1/42 OZ UNSALTED BUTTER
115 G/4 OZ BRIOCHE CRUMBS
3 EGGS, SEPARATED
6 GRATED RIND OF 1 LARGE LEMON
55 G/2 OZ CASTER SUGAR,
PLUS I TSP
2 - 4 TBSP GOOD QUALITY
RASPBERRY JAM, WARMED
2-4 TBSP RASPBERRY PUREE OR FEW DROPS EAU—DE—VIE DE FRAMBOISE OR FRAMBOISE
LIQUEUR (OPTIONAL)
DIRECTIONS:
The Style Of The Queen Pudding
Bring the milk, cream and butter to simmering point, remove from the heat and stir in the brioche crumbs, egg yolks, lemon rind and half the sugar. Leave the mixture to stand for 30 minutes.
Set the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Butter a 850 m1/11/2 pint ovenproof dish.
Pour the crumb mixture into the dish and bake for about 45 minutes until lightly set in the centre.
If 'boosting' the raspberry jam, mix it with the raspberry puree or the eau-de-vie or liqueur.
Spread the jam over the pudding.
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar, whisking well after each addition, until the mixture is stiff and shiny. Pile onto the pudding, sprinkle over the teaspoon of sugar, and return to the oven for about 15 minutes until crisp and brown on top. Serve warm.
VARIATIONS:
If you want to go further and make a richer pudding, replace more of the milk with cream. Flavourings can be chopped candied peel, ground almonds or hazelnuts, desiccated coconut, rose water or orange flower water (omit the lemon rind), melted chocolate or cocoa powder (omit the lemon rind). Orange rind can be used instead of lemon rind, with orange segments in place of the jam. The breadcrumbs can be changed to plain cake crumbs, or the bread mixture can be poured over a fruit base.
