Supper Dish

A moulded cold pudding of the trifle family, built in three layers and turned out whole. The hinge is temperature: the blancmange must be cool enough not to melt the jam yet still fluid enough to run into every gap.

• The mouldThe recipe gives no size; a plain metal or china mould or a pudding basin of roughly 1 to 1.5 quarts suits the proportions. Metal chills faster and tends to release more cleanly than glass or silicone.
• "Any kind of preserves"Thick, well-set jams and fruit cheeses hold their shape against the mould wall; runny conserves slide. Raspberry is singled out for exclusion without explanation, though the seeds would show darkly through a pale blancmange and blur the bands.
• Blancmange, 1860s senseBlancmange, older sense -- Here it most likely means sweetened milk or cream set with isinglass or gelatine rather than a cornflour pudding, though both senses were current in the period. A cornflour version will work but sets opaque and stiff, and needs to be poured warmer.
• "Thin"Use roughly half again as much liquid to setting agent as you would for a blancmange served on its own — it has to flow around soaked cake rather than stand up by itself. Around 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine to a pint of milk gives a set that turns out but stays tender.
• The custardA pouring custard, used hot so the sponge drinks it up, then left until the cake is saturated but not collapsing. Stale or dry sponge absorbs better than fresh.
• Assembly orderLine and chill the preserves first, set the soaked cake in the centre without pressing it against the sides, then pour the blancmange down the gap. Any cake touching the mould will show through as a bald patch.
• Setting timeFour hours in the refrigerator is a minimum for a gelatine set; overnight is safer for a mould of this size.
• Turning outDip the mould in hot water for five to ten seconds, run a thin knife around the rim, and invert onto a chilled dish. If the jam has softened, refrigerate the plated pudding briefly before serving.
• YieldDepending on the size of mould used, six to eight small portions.