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Custard Pudding
Crack two fresh eggs in a bowl, add the yolks of three more, three ounces of sugar, half teaspoon vanilla essence, the juice of half a sound lemon, a pint and a half milk, two gills cream and sharply mix with a whisk until well thickened. Lightly butter a quart pudding mould, strew an ounce of finely shredded cocoanut on the bottom and sides of the mould, set the mould on the ice and let stand till thoroughly cold, then strain the preparation through a cheesecloth into it. Place the mould in a saucepan, pour hot water in the pan up to half the height of the mould, set in the oven for forty-five minutes, remove, unmould on a large dish, pour a Sabayon sauce over and serve either hot or cold.
Tuesday, Second Week of September
A baked custard in the Delmonico's manner: rich, gently set, lined with coconut and turned out. The instructions assume you know how a water bath behaves, so the key numbers are the ones left unsaid.
- The measuresTwo gills of cream is one cup. A pint and a half of milk is three cups, and three ounces of sugar is a scant half cup. Total liquid is about a quart, which fills a quart mould once the eggs are counted in — use a slightly larger mould, 5 to 6 cups, to be safe.
- Oven temperatureNo heat is given. Bake at 325F; anything hotter and the custard curdles and weeps at the edges before the centre sets.
- Doneness beats the clockForty-five minutes suits a shallow mould. Judge by the custard itself: it should register 170 to 175F at the centre and wobble as one mass when nudged. A knife slid in an inch from the edge comes out clean while the middle is still faintly loose.
- Lemon juice and milkThe acid is there for lift against all that yolk, and it may thicken or slightly clot the dairy on contact. Whisk it in last, work quickly, and do not skip the straining through cheesecloth — that is what removes the specks and any stringy albumen.
- Whisk, do not beat"Until well thickened" most likely means uniformly blended rather than foamed. Air whipped in now turns to bubbles and a spongy, pitted texture in the finished pudding. Skim any foam off the surface before baking.
- Chilling the mouldButtering, coating with shredded coconut, then setting the mould on ice firms the butter so the coconut stays put when the custard is poured in. Twenty minutes in the freezer does the same work.
- UnmouldingA hot baked custard is fragile. It will turn out far more cleanly after an hour in the refrigerator; run a thin knife round the rim, invert onto a dish, and lift the mould straight up.
- Sabayon sauceEgg yolks, sugar and wine — Marsala traditionally — whisked over simmering water until thick and pourable. Make it while the pudding rests; it separates if held long.
- YieldSix to eight servings.
The International Cook Book came from Alexander Filippini, long associated with Delmonico's in New York, and this pudding shows the house style: French technique, Italian sauce, and a well-stocked pantry. The custard itself is the oldest thing on the page: eggs, milk, sugar and a flavouring, baked in a water bath, a method already centuries old by 1900 and still the basis of crème caramel and flan. What dates it is the trimming. Desiccated shredded coconut had become a reliable commercial product by the late nineteenth century, cheap enough to line a mould with, and sabayon is the French spelling of Italian zabaglione, the whipped yolk-and-wine sauce familiar in restaurant kitchens of the era. The dish was to be served "either hot or cold."