Orange Pudding

A plain baked custard thickened slightly with cracker crumbs, written for a sickroom tray rather than a dinner table. The instructions assume you already know how a custard is baked, so the details below fill that in.

• The hinge: acid and milkOrange juice will curdle sweetened milk if the two sit together before the eggs set. Stir the juice in last, immediately before the dishes go into the oven, or use the water version the recipe offers as an alternative.
• "Bake like custard"The recipe gives no temperature or time. Standard modern practice for a baked custard is a water bath in a moderate oven (about 325F), the dish set in a pan of hot water reaching partway up its sides, until the centre is just barely wobbly -- on the order of 35 to 45 minutes for small cups. A custard baked dry at high heat is liable to weep and turn grainy.
• Rolled cracker crumbsNineteenth-century recipes generally mean plain soda or water crackers crushed with a rolling pin, not sweet graham crumbs. Unsalted saltines are the closest supermarket match; two tablespoons is roughly the crumbs from a couple of crackers.
• One small orangeA small orange yields roughly a quarter to a third of a cup of juice. Grate the rind of half the fruit only, as written; too much rind and pith can make the pudding bitter.
• Egg proportionOne egg to a pint of liquid is a very soft set, with the cracker crumbs doing some of the thickening. If you want it to unmould or hold a spoon, use two eggs to the pint and keep everything else the same.
• YieldEnough for three or four small cups, or two servings. Chill thoroughly before serving, as the recipe specifies cold.