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Lady Mary Lowther's Pudding
wed 952. Mix half a pint of water, four spoonfuls of wine, a little sugar and salt, the rind and half the juice of one lemon, and a quarter of a pound of butter; put these on the fire till dissolved; when nearly cold, add a quarter of a pound of flour, and mix thoroughly. When quite cold, add three eggs very well beaten, again put all on the fire, and then bake them in cups.
This is a panada-style baked pudding: a cooked flour-and-butter base enriched with eggs and baked in small cups, closer to a lemon soufflé pudding than to a suet one. The base must be properly cold before the eggs go in.
- MeasuresHalf an imperial pint is 10 fl oz (about 1¼ cups). "Four spoonfuls" of wine in a book of this date most likely means tablespoons, so roughly 60 ml; a sweet white wine or sherry suits it. A quarter pound is 4 oz (115 g) each of butter and flour.
- Lemon rindThe recipe does not say to take the rind out, but paring the zest off in strips with a knife rather than grating it makes it easy to lift from the liquid before the flour goes in. Half the juice of one lemon is roughly 1 to 1½ tablespoons.
- The hinge: temperature before the eggsThe instruction to wait until the mixture is "quite cold" is the whole recipe. Beaten eggs stirred into a warm flour paste will set into curds, and no amount of beating recovers it. Cool the base to room temperature or below.
- "Again put all on the fire"The original does not say for how long. It is presumably a brief warming only, over the lowest heat and stirring constantly, to start thickening the batter before it goes into the cups. Take it off the moment it thickens; if it approaches a simmer the eggs will scramble.
- Baking the cupsButter small ovenproof cups or ramekins and fill them about two-thirds full — the mixture rises. The original gives no oven guidance; 350F for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and set at the centre, suits small cups. Standing them in a roasting tin of hot water gives a softer, more custardy result.
- Yield and servingEnough for six to eight small cups. They sink as they cool, so serve them straight from the oven, with cream or a wine sauce.