Queen of Puddings

I know it has been a while, but I've been to Sydney and had another lurgy to contend with.  I don't usually get sick, but the flu season has been particularly bad in Perth this year. Fingers-crossed I won't get it again.

My trip to Sydney coincided with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London.  As I was out and about, all I saw were highlights on the news.  If I had been at home, I would have been glued to the television.  I do love a Royal occasion, and have a long history of being glued.  It all started with the wedding of Diana and Charles.  I was at a very impressionable age when that took place, and have been hooked ever since.  The English do pomp and ceremony so well.  Oh, and merchandise too.

As part of my Jubilee celebrations on this blog, I'm starting with the Queen of Puddings.  This pudding is essentially cake soaked in egg custard, covered with raspberry jam and topped with meringue.  Traditionally it is made using bread crumbs or sponge cake, but Australians tend to make it with Madeira cake for extra calories.  This end result is a very sweet pudding, which is just the thing for lurgy season.

I'm not sure of the history of the pudding.  Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, which I turn to on such occasions, contains a very large number of pudding recipes but the Queen of Puddings is not mentioned.  There is a Royal Coburg pudding and an Empress pudding, but these bear no resemblance to the Queen of Puddings.  Quite a few of the recipes involve breadcrumbs, and sometimes jam, but they also include dried fruit, suet and/or puff pastry.  The flavours of the Queen of Puddings seem very Victorian to me.  Mrs Beeton's book was first published in 1861 so perhaps some bright spark adapted a breadcrumb pudding and created the Queen of Puddings later in Queen Victoria's reign, perhaps even for her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Queen of Puddings recipe

1 x 450g store bought Madeira cake
250g full cream milk
250g whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 eggs
235g caster sugar
250g jar of raspberry jam

Heat the milk, cream and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan until just about to boil.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.  Separate the eggs, and whisk the egg yolks and 60g of the sugar until light.  Pour the warm milk/cream into the eggs and whisk gently until combined.  If you whisk too vigorously, the mixture will froth up and can stay that way resulting in a bubbly custard.  Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and stir continuously over a gentle heat until the custard coats the back of the spoon.  This takes about 5 minutes. 

Cut the Madeira cake into 1cm slices and line the base of a large baking dish.  Fill any spaces with offcuts.  Pour the custard over the Madeira cake in small quantities and leave for about 30 minutes until the custard is absorbed.

As Madeira cake has a very dense consistency, it doesn't always soak up all the custard, so spoon off any excess.  While you're waiting for the custard to be absorbed, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Put the raspberry jam into a bowl and stir until smooth, as this makes it easier to spread.  Spread the jam evenly over the surface of the cake. 

Whisk the egg whites into soft peaks and add the remaining caster sugar in small batches until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are thick and glossy.  Spread the meringue over the jam, making swirls as you go.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the meringue has a golden hue.  Serve immediately and enjoy the sweet, gooey goodness.