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Baked Batter Pudding
Separate the yolks from the whites of 4 eggs, beat them well separately, and throw them in a basin together; then mix them very gradually with 6 or 8 ounces of flour, and a pinch or two of salt. Make the batter of the proper consistency by adding little more than 1 pint of good milk. Bake in a buttered dish for three-quarters of an hour in a quick oven. This pudding is much improved by careful mixing. If the eggs, flour, and milk are not well blended together the pudding is often a failure.
A plain baked batter — essentially a Yorkshire pudding sweetened at the table rather than in the bowl. Success rests entirely on the smoothness of the batter, as the original insists.
- Quick ovenRead this as roughly 400–450F. A batter pudding needs high heat at the start so the steam lifts it before the structure sets; a moderate oven gives a dense, leathery slab.
- Flour by weight6 to 8 ounces of flour is roughly 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups. Use the lower figure for a lighter, more custard-like pudding and the higher for one that holds a slice.
- "Little more than 1 pint"Reckoning the pint as the imperial 20 fl oz, that is about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups of whole milk. The batter should pour like heavy cream — thin enough to coat the back of a spoon and run off freely.
- The hinge: no lumpsAdd the milk in stages to the egg-and-flour paste, not all at once, whisking smooth after each addition. Lumps of dry flour hydrate unevenly in the oven and leave grey streaks and a heavy bottom layer. Straining the finished batter costs nothing.
- Rest the batterTwenty to thirty minutes of standing lets the flour hydrate fully and gives a better rise. Whisk once more before pouring.
- The dishA buttered 8- or 9-inch baking dish, about 2 inches deep. Butter it generously and put it in the oven to heat before the batter goes in — the batter should sizzle on contact.
- TimingThree-quarters of an hour suits a deep dish, but check at 30 minutes: the pudding should be well risen, browned, and firm at the centre. It will sink somewhat as it cools, which is normal.
- Yield and servingServes four to six. There is no sugar in the batter, so serve it hot with jam, warmed golden syrup, sugar and lemon, or stewed fruit.