From our lovely 19th century cookery book. Written in a notebook, quarter-leather bound. Appears to be mainly standard English recipes but with the occasional reference to hot climate food like Life Guards’ Pudding, To Cure Hams in a Hot Climate, and this particular recipe for Manchester pudding to be eaten cold.
Recipe:
3 oz of grated bread, ½ pint of milk, a strip of lemon peel, 4 eggs, 2 oz of butter and sugars to taste. Puff paste, jam, tablespoonful of brandy.
Flavour the milk with the lemon by boiling it for a short time, strain it on the bread crumbs and boil for 2 or 3 minutes, add the eggs, leaving out the whites of 2, the butter, sugars and brandy. Stir all these ingredients well together, cover a pie dish with a thin layer of puff paste and at the bottom put a layer of any kind of jam. Pour the mixture cold on the jam and bake for an hour. Serve cold with a little sifted sugar ___ over it.
For the Modern Kitchen
- 85 grams (3 ounces) bread crumbs
- 284 ml (½ pint) of milk
- A strip of lemon peel
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 56 gm (2 oz) of butter
- 80 g castor sugar
- Puff pastry
- Jam (whatever you have around)
- Tablespoon of brandy (feel free to substitute for vanilla)
Preheat oven to 150.
Take puff pastry out to defrost. Once defrosted, apply to a pie dish and cover in jam of choice.
Peel lemon rind and place in milk, boiling gently until scented. While doing this, prepare egg mixture for tempering by whisking melted butter, sugar and brandy together in a large bowl.
Remove lemon rind, and start pouring a little of the hot milk and bread crumbs into the egg mixture. Whisk vigorously, adding in more of the milk and bread crumbs until all combined. Keep the mixture moving so as not to scramble the eggs.
Bake until firm and the pastry is golden. Serve with a little sifted flour.