Monday 6 February 2012

GH: Queen of Puddings

Oh, yes, you read that right! Queen of Puddings!

I've had puddings for as long as I can remember. Here in Singapore, puddings tend to refer to mango, sago etc. Puddings to me are hot, sweet dishes served after a large scrumptious lunch that make you take forty winks in the middle of the afternoon.

Now, some basics....



Queen of Puddings is a traditional British dessert, consisting of a baked, breadcrumb-thickened mixture, spread with jam and topped withmeringue.
Milk and lemon zest are heated to boiling in a saucepan. Sugar, butter and breadcrumbs are mixed into the hot milk, which is allowed to cool.Egg yolks and a whole egg are beaten into this mixture, which is transferred into a deep pie dish then baked in a bain-marie until set.
The firm, brownish base is then spread with jam — usually raspberry or blackcurrant — and a meringue mix made from the reserved egg whites is spooned over the jam. The pudding is returned to the oven and baked until the meringue is golden, but still soft. The pudding is eaten hot.

If you google Queen of Puddings, you see puddings quite like mine except with even more jam! Frankly, even with my very small amount of jam, I found the pudding a tad too sweet. I might change the jam to stewed fruit next time or cut down on a lot of sugar in the milk pudding.

All in all, it was a really nice pudding and definitely not one you'd eat everyday.
The above description says the pudding sets in a bain-marie which is double boiling really (not steaming). I didn't do that. I just baked the entire thing in the oven. The middle didn't quite set though so I might try the bain-marie next time and see if there are any differences.

INGREDIENTS
  • 400ml milk
  • 25g butter
  • grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 2 eggs (separated)
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 75g fresh white bread crumbs
  • 2 tbsps red jam
METHOD
  1. Warm the butter, milk & lemon rind in a saucepan.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks & half the sugar lightly and pour on the milk, stirring well.
  3. Strain over bread crumbs.
  4. Pour mixture into a well greased 2pt oven proof dish. Leave to stand for 15mins.
  5. Bake in a pre-heated 180 degree C oven for 25-30mins or until lightly set.
  6. Remove from oven and spread jam over the pudding.
  7. Whisk the egg whites stiffly and add half the remaining sugar. Whisk again.
  8. Fold in the remaining sugar.
  9. Pile the meringue on top of the pudding and return to oven.
  10. Bake for a further 15-20mins or until the meringue is lightly browned.
  11. Serve hot.

Love,
Amy.

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