19^th century

Eve’s Pudding

When mentioning Eve’s pudding I immediately think of apples, and indeed the earliest recipe does contain apples, as does the modern pudding. But in the mid-nineteenth century other fruits were used as well and the pudding is called a soufflé pudding. The recipe below, and those in later books, requires the cook to boil the pudding and there are no visible layers, but the version we know today is made with a layer of chopped apples and a layer of sponge cake. This is a completely different pudding, one that doesn’t appear under the name ‘Eve’s pudding’ in any of the nineteenth century books, nor in the early twentieth century. It is not clear when the ‘modern’ Eve’s pudding made with sponge cake became the fashion but it’s still a favourite today, and really very good on a winter’s day.

Eve’s pudding.

Grate three-quarters of a pound of bread; mix it with the same quantity of shred suet, the same of apples and also of currants; mix with these the whole of four eggs, and the rind of half a lemon shred fine. Put it into a shape; boil three hours, and serve with pudding sauce, the juice of half a lemon, and a little nutmeg.

Maria Eliza Ketelby Rundell, A New System of Domestic Cookery, 1807

Although the modern recipe requires you to make a simple sponge cake, I prefer using fresh breadcrumbs for a more authentic pudding. Breadcrumbs were used when raising agents weren’t yet common. Use the best bread you can afford, which will define your pudding. Whatever you do, do not use ready-made dried breadcrumbs because that is an entirely different product.

Makes enough for an 18–20 cm (7–8 inch) cake tin or pie dish

3 cooking apples, such as bramley or cox

50 g (1¾ oz) currants

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

200 g (7 oz) butter

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

50 g (1¾ oz) light brown sugar, extra

4 eggs

200 g (7 oz/3¹/₃ cups) fresh breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Peel, core and chop the apples into large but elegant chunks. Generously butter the pie dish or cake tin. Toss in the apples and the currants, and add the light brown sugar.

Prepare the batter by creaming the butter, lemon zest and the extra sugar in a separate bowl, add the eggs one at a time, stirring constantly, and then gradually add the breadcrumbs. When everything is well combined, pour or spoon the batter evenly over the apple.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 50–60 minutes, until nicely golden brown.

Serve with clotted cream or custard sauce, or vanilla ice cream.

Some stewed rhubarb added to the apples instead of the currants makes for another wonderfully comforting pudding. If you want to make this pudding with flour, use 200 g (7 oz/1¹/₃ cups) of plain (all-purpose) flour instead of the breadcrumbs.