Once again, for Queen Victoria’s birthday on May 24, I am continuing my tradition of making a recipe named after her (ok, so this one isn’t named “Victoria,” but “her majesty” is definitely referring to her). The long-reigning queen inspired many recipe-writers during the 19th century; see here for other recipes I’ve made that were named after or affiliated with her. This one comes from one of my favorite Victorian cookbooks, Eliza Acton’s 1845 Modern Cookery In All Its Branches.

Her Majesty’s Pudding:

• 1 imperial pint whole milk (19.2 fluid oz/568 ml)
• 1/2 vanilla pod
• 1/2 imperial pint cream (9.6 fluid oz/284 ml)
• 3 oz sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• fruit syrup or jelly, for serving

1. Cut half a vanilla pod in short lengths and bruise it. Simmer with milk gently for 20 minutes.
2. Strain the milk and combine it with the cream and sugar in a clean saucepan. Heat just until it boils.
3. Gradually pour the hot milk/cream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly until the mixture is almost cold.
4. Put in a well-buttered 1.5 pint pudding basin.
5. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the basin, butter both sides, and place it on top. Cover it with either a pudding cloth or with foil, making a pleat across the middle to give the pudding room to rise. Tie it tightly around the rim of the basin with string.
6. Place a small plate upside-down on the bottom of a large pot of boiling water. Gently lower the pudding in so that it rests on the plate. The water should come about half-way up the pudding basin.
7. Put a lid on the pot and keep at a very low boil for about 1 hour (I added about an extra 15 minutes since it still looked too wobbly after just an hour), topping up the water level with more boiling water if necessary.
8. Let the pudding stand for at least 4 minutes before turning it out.
9. Serve with warm jelly or fruit syrup.

Tasting notes:

I was so afraid that this pudding would collapse instantly upon turning out, but it actually survived! It did flatten slightly and smooshed out towards the sides, so I would recommend using a plate a little larger than the pudding basin to accommodate the spread. The custard should be set with a little wobble when you pull the pudding out of the hot water; I added a few extra minutes to Eliza Acton’s cooking time just to be sure. The custard was a bit on the eggy side for me (it probably needs all those egg yolks to keep it from collapsing), but the vanilla flavor was nice and it was perfect served with a fruit jelly as Acton suggests. It seems like an appropriately rich custard pudding for a queen.

References:

Acton, E. (1845). Modern cookery, in all its branches. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. https://archive.org/details/moderncookeryin00actogoog/page/374/mode/2up?view=theater