Queen of Puddings

May 24: Birth date of Queen Victoria in 1819

We have eaten King’s Cakes for Epiphany and Fat Tuesday before. Now we have tried Queen of Puddings to sample the sweet life of royalty. This particular pudding was created by chefs at Buckingham Palace in Queen Victoria’s honor during the 17th century.  Reminiscent of a bread pudding, the custard-like texture of this dessert is traditionally topped with a royal red raspberry or strawberry jam and crowned with majestic meringue. Queen of Puddings is perfect for princess parties, High Tea, royal or pageant watching, a finale to a formal (or even informal) meal and, especially, Queen Victoria’s birthday.

Recipe

(Adapted from Eating Royally by Darren McGrady)

Ingredients

• 1 small pound cake (Sara Lee brand)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar (divided use)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 small jar (12 ounces) seedless raspberry or strawberry jam or jelly
• 3 egg whites

Directions

Slice the pound cake into ½-inch cubes. Place in a small but deep dish casserole.

In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs with ½ cup of sugar and vanilla paste until light and frothy. Boil the milk over the stove top, then slowly pour it into the egg mixture, whisking at the same time so the hot milk does not cook the eggs.

Pour the liquid over the pound cake cubes in the casserole to soak. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for half an hour to set. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Warm the jam or jelly over the stovetop until smooth. Spread over the baked pound cake pudding. Let set.

Make a meringue with the egg whites and remaining sugar. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gradually add the sugar. Fill a pastry bag and pipe decorative designs on top of the jam or jelly (some cover it completely in meringue but we chose to expose the regal red color beneath by making criss-crosses). Return the pudding to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes more or until the meringue begins to brown. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Notes

• The original recipe calls for four egg whites but three were sufficient. Separate the eggs and leave the whites at room temperature to give a higher rise when beating the meringue. We have also tried ½ – ¾ cup of pasteurized or liquid egg whites (such as All Whites brand) with ½ tablespoon of meringue powder to stabilize it. Although it did not give as high a rise as real egg whites, the meringue was still fine to use as a topping.
• This is a sweet dessert, so we cut down the original recipe’s sugar by ½ cup. Also, feel free to use a sugar-free or low sugar jam or jelly to reduce the cloying taste.
• If desired, sprinkle ¼ cup blanched or sliced almond on top of the meringue before baking.
• This is a very easy dessert to make. For individual servings, prepare the pudding in mini ramekins.
• Look for other royal recipes on our blog to inspire menu ideas for luxurious meals.