Lemonade Pudding a Cool Summer Dish

An uncooked assembly rather than a pudding in the baked sense: a sweet roll soaked in sharpened lemonade, spiked with almonds and glazed with melted jelly. Everything depends on the roll absorbing liquid without collapsing.

• The hinge: soak, do not drownThe hinge: soak, but keep it whole -- The roll must take up liquid all the way through while still holding its shape, which is presumably why the instruction says not to break them. A day-old roll in a shallow dish, with the lemonade ladled over and the roll turned once or twice, will absorb thoroughly without falling apart.
• Lemonade "in the usual way"In a domestic kitchen of this period that would normally mean still lemonade: the juice and pared zest of lemons, sugar, and water, strained. Something in the region of 3 lemons and 4 oz (about half a cup) sugar to a pint of water gives the sharpness the dish needs, though period ratios vary. Anything fizzy or from a bottle will be too sweet and will not soak in cleanly.
• A pintAssuming a British book, a pint here is the imperial 20 fl oz, about 2.5 US cups. Note that the recipe pegs the Seville juice to each pint of lemonade, not to each roll, so scale the lemonade to the number of rolls.
• Seville orangeThe bitter marmalade orange, in season only from about January to February and not stocked year-round. Out of season, the juice of half a regular orange plus an extra squeeze of lemon and a little grated zest approximates the bitterness; some cooks use bottled Seville juice sold for marmalade.
• French rollNot a baguette. In nineteenth-century English usage this is a small, light white roll, sometimes made with milk or a little butter or egg. Choose something soft-crumbed; a heavy, crisp crust will not soften evenly.
• Blanched almondsWhole almonds dropped in boiling water for a minute, slipped from their skins, then split lengthwise into two flat halves and stuck point-first into the roll. This is the hedgehog treatment, and split almonds hold far better than commercial slivered ones.
• Liquefied currant jellyRed currant jelly warmed gently over low heat, or briefly in a microwave, until just pourable and no further. Boiling breaks the set and gives a thin syrup that runs off. Pour it over while warm so it glazes and firms as it cools.
• ServingOne roll serves one or two as a small dessert. Chill the soaked roll before glazing and serve within a couple of hours, as it softens further and the almonds go limp on standing.