Queen of puddings

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.

MAKES ONE LARGE 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.

IMAGE: Matt Russell fro The Guardian