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Citron and Almond Pudding
This pudding is made in the same way as the preceding one, with the addition of a dozen sweet almonds blanched and pounded. In both cases, if it is not wished to have a rich pudding, a smaller number of eggs may be used.
This is a variation rather than a standalone recipe: the method belongs to the citron pudding printed immediately before it, and almost everything a cook needs is in that entry. What follows covers the parts that need translating and the pitfalls in the almonds.
- You need the preceding recipeCassell's builds its puddings in chains, and this entry supplies only the addition. Without the base recipe you have no quantities and no method or cooking time; find the citron pudding above it before starting.
- Citron is candied peelIn this period citron means the thick candied peel of the citron fruit, sold in slabs or cut cubes, not lemon juice or zest and not the American soft drink. Candied lemon peel is the usual substitute; use less, as it is sharper and more perfumed.
- "Sweet almonds" is a deliberate distinctionVictorian shops sold both sweet and bitter almonds, and recipes specified which. Ordinary supermarket almonds are the sweet kind, so a dozen blanched almonds is all that is meant here — around 15 g, or a scant two tablespoons once ground.
- BlanchingCover the almonds with boiling water, leave two or three minutes, then pinch off the skins. Dry them well before pounding or the paste turns gluey.
- Pounding without oilingA mortar gives a smoother paste than a machine, but a food processor works if you pulse in short bursts with a spoonful of the recipe's sugar to absorb the oil. Ground continuously, almonds heat up and turn to butter, which makes the pudding greasy rather than short.
- Fewer eggs, different puddingThe note about using fewer eggs is sound but not free: eggs are the setting agent here, so a leaner mix bakes softer and can weep. Take it out while the centre still trembles slightly.
- OvenThis entry gives no oven instruction; check the preceding recipe. If it is a baked egg pudding, a moderate oven of roughly 325-350F, and a water bath, is the usual modern equivalent, since higher heat curdles the edges before the middle sets.
Almonds and candied citron were the two great luxuries of the English sweet kitchen from the medieval period onward, and a pudding containing both belongs to a family of rich baked "citron puddings" often said to appear in eighteenth-century collections. Both ingredients arrived by long-distance trade and both kept well, which is why they turn up together so often in cakes, mincemeats and baked puddings: a store cupboard stocked with candied peel and a bag of almonds could produce something festive at short notice. The form of this entry is equally characteristic of Cassell's New Dictionary of Cookery, a vast late-Victorian compilation that organises dishes alphabetically and expects the reader to work through a run of related recipes, each stated as a small departure from the one before it rather than repeated in full.