We recently discovered a notebook filled with my maternal grandma’s recipes in my mum’s loft.
I hadn’t realised quite how much I had longed for it; and I hadn’t thought we’d had many recipes passed down in my family. My memories of Grandma Catherine are from the years after her dementia took hold, so I never saw her cook. I just remember a kitchen cupboard full of jars of mint sauce – the result of muddled trips to the shops.
The notebook feels like a way to get to know her in those years when she was more herself. Queen of puddings, according to Mum, was her favourite, so I’ll make it this and every Mother’s Day from now on.
Queen of puddings (pictured above)
My grandma’s recipe is a bit like a Bake-Off challenge: no oven temperatures and a very lean method. I guess it harks back to a time when our cooking instincts were more honed. I’ve stayed as close to her version as I could, but have added some timings. You could add a little spice or vanilla in with the breadcrumbs, if you like; and you can use any jam here. The mandarin one below works wonderfully, but she would have used strawberry or raspberry from a jar.
Prep 20 min
Cook 45 min
Makes 1 pudding
100g homemade white breadcrumbs
120g golden caster sugar
10g butter
475ml whole milk
3 eggs, separated
2 tbsp jam of your choice
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/gas 4. Mix the breadcrumbs and 50g of the sugar in a bowl.
Put the butter and milk into a saucepan, heat gently until the butter has melted, then take off the heat and leave to cool. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl. Add the breadcrumb mixture to the milk mixture, then whisk in the egg yolks.
Pour the mixture into a greased, 24cm round baking dish or pie dish, and bake for 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the meringue. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold in the remaining sugar and whisk again for 10 minutes, until smooth and silky.
Take the dish out of the oven, spread with the jam, then top with the meringue, using the back of a spoon to create peaks; you could also pipe on the meringue mixture if you wanted to.
Return the pudding to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the meringue is browned.
Quick mandarin compote
I like the brightness of citrus, both on my toast and in this queen of puddings. It’s not the jam my Grandma would have used for her pudding, but it does remind me of the tinned mandarins I ate from the tin at her house.
Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 1 pot
8 mandarins (or clementines), peeled
3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 pinch flaky salt
A few sprigs of thyme (optional)
Put the peeled mandarin segments in a saucepan, removing any big pieces of pith as you go.
Heat the pan to low-medium and add the honey, salt and thyme, if you’re using it. Gently simmer until the fruit breaks down, using a masher to make a jam-like consistency. This should take around 20 minutes.
Set aside to cool and use in today’s queen of puddings recipe, or spoon over your toast or yoghurt at breakfast.
