Apple Posset

A soft, spoonable milk-and-bread pudding rather than a drink, thickened with baked apple pulp. It comes together in about ten minutes once the apples are done.

• Bake the apples firstThe recipe assumes you already have "nicely baked apples" on hand. Core whole apples and bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes until collapsing, then scoop out the pulp and discard skins and any core fibre.
• Stir the pulp in off the heatThe recipe is explicit about the order: take it off the fire, sweeten and spice, pour into a bowl, then stir the pulp in gradually. Fruit acid stirred into milk still at the boil can curdle it, so the order is worth keeping.
• The bread"Fine white bread" suggests a close-crumbed white loaf; the recipe does not specify crusts, staleness, or the number of slices. Three or four slices to a pint gives a porridge-like body; modern airy sandwich bread breaks down faster, so add it in stages and judge by thickness.
• A pint of milkIf the source is English, an imperial pint is 20 fl oz, a little under 2 1/2 US cups. Whole milk gives the right richness; the mixture will thicken considerably as it stands.
• Ginger and sugar"A spoonful" of powdered ginger to a pint is generous by modern palates. Start with a rounded teaspoon and taste. Sugar is undeclared as well: 2 to 3 tablespoons suits most apples.
• Apple choiceEnglish cooking apples such as Bramley fall to a fluff when baked. In North America, McIntosh or Cortland behave similarly; a firm Granny Smith will need mashing or sieving.
• Yield and servingRoughly two to three servings as a warm supper dish. Best eaten warm and loose; refrigerated, it sets stiff and needs thinning with a little milk.