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Baked Apple Pudding
827. Pare and quarter four large apples; boil them tender, with the rind of a lemon, in so little water that, when done, none may remain ; beat them quite fine in a mortar, and add the crumb of a small roll, four ounces of butter melted, the yolks of five and whites of three eggs, juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste; mix all together, and lay it in a dish with paste to turn out, leaving a hole at the bottom of bottom of the size of a sixpence, so that the juice may exude through it , and give a rich flavour to the paste. This makes it doubly delicious . 828. THE OTHER FRUITS mentioned at par. 825 may be used as described at par. 827, and baked in the same way.
An apple version of the old baked lemon-and-butter puddings, set in a pastry case rather than a pudding basin. The recipe assumes you know how to line a dish with shortcrust and how long a pudding needs in the oven, so both need filling in.
- The hinge: drive off the waterThe apples are boiled in so little water that none is left when they are tender. If any liquid remains, the mash will loosen the butter-and-egg mixture and the filling will weep in the pastry. Cook them covered over low heat, then uncover and stir dry before mashing.
- Quantities in modern termsFour large apples is roughly 1 1/2 lb (700 g) prepared weight. Four ounces of butter is 115 g, one stick. The crumb of a small roll means the soft interior of a bread roll, no crust, about 1 to 1 1/2 oz (30-40 g) or a scant cup of fresh crumbs.
- Egg ratioFive yolks with only three whites is deliberate: the extra yolks enrich and set the filling without making it spongy. Do not simplify to four whole eggs.
- Beat them quite fineA mortar was the period's answer to a smooth puree. A food processor or a stick blender does it in seconds; press through a sieve if you want it very fine. Let the puree cool to lukewarm before adding the eggs or they will scramble.
- Lemon rindThe rind is boiled with the apples; the recipe does not say whether it is taken out before mashing. Pare it in strips with a knife rather than grating if you want to be able to fish it out. Unwaxed fruit is worth using since the peel is simmered.
- Paste to turn outThis most likely means a firm shortcrust strong enough to be unmoulded and served free-standing rather than a soft flan pastry. Line a buttered pie dish or shallow cake tin, and note that the recipe wants a small hole left in the base so juice can run into the crust.
- Oven and timingThe original gives neither. A moderate oven, 350F (175C), for 45 minutes to an hour suits it; the filling should be set and lightly coloured but not risen and cracked.
- YieldServes six to eight. It is rich enough that small wedges are enough, and it is better warm than hot straight from the oven, when the filling is still slack.
Baked apple puddings of this kind sit between two English traditions: the medieval and Tudor habit of baking sweetened, spiced fruit inside a pastry "coffin", and the eighteenth-century fashion for rich egg-and-butter baked puddings flavoured with lemon. The following entry simply says the other fruits may be treated in the same way, one method serving a range of produce. The instruction to leave a small opening the size of a sixpence, so the escaping juice can flavour the crust, is a practical refinement, and the sixpence itself is a useful reminder of how measurement worked in a kitchen without gauges: coins, walnuts and eggs stood in for exact units.