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Lemon Pudding
889. Mix together a quarter of a pound each of butter, loaf-sugar, and a quarter of a pint of milk; put altogether into a saucepan till dissolved, but it should not boil; when rather cool add three eggs well beaten, the rind of a large lemon grated, and a little juice; line the dish with a thin paste, and bake.
A richer Lemon Pudding. -Boil the peel of a lemon in two waters, then beat it fine in a stone mortar; add half a pound of loaf sugar, half a pound of butter, a sponge biscuit or a few bread crumbs, and six eggs well beaten; mix all well together, add two table-spoonsful of brandy and a little lemon juice, and bake it in a dish lined with a puff paste.
Two versions of the same Victorian dish: a lemon custard baked in a pastry-lined dish, the second enriched with brandy and twice the butter and sugar. Neither gives an oven temperature or a time, so treat them as custard tarts and judge by set rather than clock.
- The measurementsA quarter-pound each of butter and sugar is 115 g each; a quarter-pint of milk in a British book of this date is 5 fl oz, about 150 ml. Loaf sugar was refined sugar broken from a cone -- ordinary granulated or caster sugar is the direct replacement.
- Do not let the butter mixture boilThe instruction "it should not boil" is the hinge of the first version. Melt the butter and sugar into the milk over low heat only until dissolved, then cool it to warm before the eggs go in, or they will scramble and the pudding will bake grainy.
- Oven and timingNeither version gives a temperature or a time. A moderate oven, around 350F/180C, is a reasonable modern equivalent, and a shallow dish of this size will need somewhere in the region of 35-45 minutes. Judge by set rather than clock: take it out when the centre is just barely wobbly, as carryover heat finishes it. Overbaking splits the custard and weeps liquid into the pastry.
- "Line the dish with a thin paste"This is a pastry lining in a pie dish, not a pudding basin. Blind-bake the shortcrust before filling, otherwise the wet custard will keep the base pale and soft. The richer version calls for puff paste, which benefits even more from being partly baked first.
- A sponge biscuitIn the second version this is a dry, plain sponge finger of the ladyfinger or boudoir type, used as a thickener. The recipe asks for one, or as an alternative 'a few bread crumbs' -- a small handful of fine dry white breadcrumbs does the same job.
- Boiling the peel "in two waters"Simmer the pared peel, drain, cover with fresh water and simmer again. The change of water pulls out bitterness from the pith. Modern equivalent: blanch the peel twice, then pound or blitz it with a spoonful of the sugar to a paste.
- Lemon quantity"A little juice" is vague; start with a tablespoon in the first version and two in the richer one. More than that in a butter-and-egg custard risks curdling before the oven sets it.
- YieldNo yield is given. The first pudding, with three eggs and a quarter-pint of milk, suits a small pastry case of around 20 cm; the richer one, with six eggs and half a pound each of butter and sugar, needs a noticeably larger dish. Both are very rich.