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Almond Pudding
Blanch a pound of almonds, pound them with rose water to prevent their oiling; mix with them four crackers, pounded, six eggs, a pint of milk or cream, a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, four tablespoonfuls of wine. Bake on a crust.--Mrs. Dr. T. W.
This is a rich baked almond custard in a pastry shell, closer to an English almond tart than to anything now called pudding. The proportions are generous even by nineteenth-century standards, and the original assumes you know how to line a pie plate and judge a set custard.
- The hinge: keep the almonds from oilingPounding a pound of almonds in a mortar releases oil and turns them to paste. The rose water is there as a lubricant that carries no fat — add it a spoonful at a time. In a food processor, pulse in short bursts with a tablespoon or two of rose water and stop while the texture is still gritty, not smooth.
- BlanchingCover the almonds with boiling water for a minute, drain, and slip off the skins between your fingers. Dry them well before grinding or the mixture will be slack. Blanched whole almonds sold ready-skinned are a fair substitute.
- CrackersThese are plain unsweetened soda or water crackers, used as a starch to bind the custard. Cracker size varied a great deal, so four pounded fine might give anywhere from about 1/3 to 2/3 cup of crumbs; unsalted saltines or plain water biscuits work.
- Sugar and butterA pound of sugar (about 2 1/4 cups) and half a pound of butter against a pint of liquid is very rich and very sweet to modern taste. Half the sugar and two-thirds of the butter give a custard that still sets and tastes of almond rather than syrup.
- WineFour tablespoons of a sweet fortified wine — sherry, madeira or a sweet white — suits the dish; such wines were common in the region, though the recipe does not say which was meant. Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in eggs, almonds, crumbs, milk and wine last so the mixture does not curdle.
- "Bake on a crust"Line a deep 9-inch pie plate with plain pastry and blind-bake it lightly before filling; the wet almond mixture will otherwise soak the base. The full quantity is very large — enough to fill two or more deep pies.
- Oven and timingNo temperature is given because the recipe predates oven thermostats. Bake at 350F for 45 to 60 minutes, until the centre is puffed and just set with a slight wobble. Any hotter and the eggs will curdle and weep.
- ServingCool completely before cutting — the custard firms as it sets. One deep pie serves eight to ten, and it is best on the day it is made.
Baked almond puddings run in a long line through English cookery from the seventeenth century onward, when ground almonds thickened dishes that later cooks would thicken with flour or cornstarch, and when rose water did the flavouring work that vanilla took over in the nineteenth century. The instruction to pound almonds with rose water "to prevent their oiling" is a standard piece of period technique, repeated almost word for word in cookbooks on both sides of the Atlantic. Its appearance in Housekeeping in Old Virginia (compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree and published in 1877) is characteristic of that book: recipes gathered from contributors who are often identified only by initials, here signed "Mrs. Dr. T. W.", and calling for a pound of nuts to be pounded in a mortar. The sugar, imported wine and half-pound of butter mark it as company food rather than everyday fare.