QUEEN OF PUDDINGS

SOURCE: NIGELLA LAWSON. AT MY TABLE: A CELEBRATION OF HOME COOKING.

Bread undeniably represents the soul of British frugality for almost a millennium. Once an expensive commodity greedily controlled by the millers guild, a notorious distinction Geoffrey Chaucer alluded to on The Miller’s Tale, any leftover loaf that had gone stale would mix into custard and become part of dessert pudding. In 1865, Massey and Son’s Comprehensive Pudding Book debuted the reign of a queen among puddings, distinguished by its fine attire of breadcrumbs and custard, its sparkling jewels of fruit preserves, and its golden crown of meringue. Of course, the queenly fashion can vary according to the playful decision of her baker to the extent that she can even wear dry brioche crumbs on her pudding base for a more ostentatious display of her flavor and texture without inciting outrage from her highly contented plebeian eaters.

Ingredients

6 ounces/170 ounces brioche, preferably one-day old, cut into slices and left to dry and stale

3 tablespoons/45 grams unsalted butter

2 cups/480 mL whole milk

Grated zest of 1 whole lemon OR orange

1 teaspoon/5 mL pure vanilla extract OR vanilla bean paste

3/4 cup and 1/2 teaspoon/152 grams granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons/10 mL lemon OR orange juice

3/4 cup/180 grams plum OR apricot preserve

4 large egg whites

Specific Equipment

Food processor OR blender

Saucepan

2 large mixing bowls

Wire whisk

Pie dish with a diameter of 10 inches/25 cm

Small bowl

Stand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment

Spatula

OPTIONAL: Fork

Serves 6 to 8

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.

2. Pulverize the brioche to fine crumbs under several pulses in a food processor or blender. Set the brioche crumbs aside.

3. Stir the butter, milk, lemon or orange zest, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, 1/4 cup/50 grams sugar, and salt in a saucepan until well blended. Set the saucepan over low heat and bring to a simmer until the butter has completely melted.

4. Beat the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl with a wire whisk and pour in the milk mixture slowly, constantly whisking until well blended. Stir in the brioche crumbs and let the mixture rest for 10 minutes or until the pudding batter has thickened.

5. Pour the pudding batter into a pie dish and bake for 20 minutes or until the top has firmed up and the pudding is wobbly underneath.

6. Remove the pie plate from the oven and let the pudding cool slightly.

7. Whisk the lemon or orange juice with the plum or apricot preserve in a small bowl until well blended and set aside.

8. Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment until soft peaks have formed. Stir in 1/2 cup/100 grams sugar and continue beating until the egg whites form stiff and glossy peaks.

9. Pour the plum or apricot preserve mixture over the pudding, spreading and smoothing the top with a spatula. Cover the preserves layer with the meringue topping, making sure it spreads to the edges of the pie plate with a spatula. Fluff off the meringue topping with a fork to form little peaks. Sprinkle the top with 1/2 teaspoon/2 grams sugar.

10. Return the pie plate into the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until the meringue layer has browned and crisped up. Remove the pie plate from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.