In the past six months I received several requests to feature queen of puddings in this column, the quintessential retro dessert. I was compelled to pick up the phone and call a friend’s mum in Longford to compare notes on this somewhat forgotten but powerfully nostalgic dessert.
She was pleasantly surprised and enthusiastically pulled out a book called All in the Cooking, which contained the recipe she used. She said this book was the bible of the Irish kitchen and used to train home economics teachers until well into the 1970s – I have to confess I had never heard of it.
The iconic pudding was popular in an era when dinner parties entailed three full days of preparation with much polishing of silver and starching of white linen table cloths.
My friend’s mum was shocked by my suggestion that she might have made it for a dinner party. Queen of puddings was far too simple for entertaining in her circle (how things have changed!). In those days, a set mousse or moulded Charlotte Russe would have been de rigueur. Nor did it make the cut for Sunday lunch; trifle owned that space.
Similar to my own experience, she confirmed that queen of puddings was a favourite family-style pudding, hence its place in the heart of many who associate it with their mum and home cooking – alongside rice pudding, eve’s pudding, apple pie and crumble, some call them nursery food.
Pleasant
Queen of puddings possesses a certain charm of its own, yet it is a humble creation. You’ll find most of what you need in your pantry. With simple ingredients such as breadcrumbs, eggs, milk, sugar and jam, this recipe raised a few eyebrows in the test kitchen. There was a bit of curious hovering in the doorway as a recipe a younger generation of chefs had never seen made or tasted began to take shape.
When golden meringue emerges from the oven you can’t really go wrong and it’s always nice when you see a few spoons whipped out and pleasant hums of appreciation as the team dig in.
I make this in a round tin or a Pyrex dish, which is also useful for apple pies. While my friend in Longford said she hadn’t made queen of puddings in 20 years, I have a feeling she’ll be making it again very soon for her army of grandchildren.
Variation
In the summer months when juicy ripe berries are abundant, you can make this pudding even more luscious! Simmer 250g of fresh berries in the warmed jam for 5 minutes to give a delicious berry compote to use as the middle layer.
Queen of Puddings (Serves 4)
Ingredients
250ml milk
zest of 1 lemon
50g butter
50g caster sugar
pinch salt
150g breadcrumbs
2 eggs
150ml raspberry jam (or blackcurrant)
100g caster sugar (for the meringue)
Method
1 Bring the milk and lemon zest to a simmer in a heavy based saucepan (remove from the heat just before boiling so the milk doesn't get a scorched flavour).
2 Add in the butter and the 50g sugar with a pinch salt and stir until dissolved. Either add the breadcrumbs directly into the saucepan of milk (or use a large bowl to combine them), stir well and set aside to cool.
3 Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Stir the egg yolks into the bread mixture and spoon into a well-greased round heatproof dish.
4 Bake in an fan oven preheated to 170°C for 30 minutes until slightly risen and firm.
5 Warm the jam slightly so it spreads easily and spread it over the surface. Using an electric hand whisk, whisk the eggs whites in a very clean bowl until they form soft peaks. Gradually add in the remaining 100g sugar and continue to whisk until glossy and forming stiff peaks. Cover the jam evenly with the meringue mixture. To create soft whirls, draw the meringue upwards either using the back of a dessert spoon or gently pressing the top with the tip of the whisk.
6 Return to the oven to bake for a final 30 minutes until the meringue is golden in colour (if necessary, increase the oven temperature to 180°C for the last 10 minutes to give a golden colour). Serve straight from the oven (or slightly warm).
