GRANDMOTHER’S COCONUT PUDDING

This is like bread pudding. Well, like bread pudding but with cake and topped with meringue! Slices of pound cake soak up the sweet coconut custard, then the pudding is blanketed in fluffy meringue.

Makes one 9 x 13-inch cake

ONE 12-OUNCE STORE-BOUGHT POUND CAKE, CUT INTO 1-INCH-THICK SLICES

½ CUP WHOLE MILK

2¼ CUPS (18 OUNCES) EVAPORATED MILK

1½ CUPS PLUS 1 TABLESPOON SUGAR

6 TABLESPOONS (¾ STICK) BUTTER

½ CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

4 EGGS, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, SEPARATED

2 CUPS SWEETENED SHREDDED COCONUT

2 TEASPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

2. Arrange one layer of cake slices on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, cutting slices to fit.

3. Combine the milk, evaporated milk, 1½ cups of the sugar, the flour, and butter in a medium saucepan. Set over low heat and whisk until the sugar and flour dissolve and the butter melts. Slowly whisk in the egg yolks and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the coconut and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Continue to whisk and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until it becomes thick.

4. Pour the pudding evenly over the cake slices in the baking dish.

5. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until bubbly and foamy. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until soft peaks form. Spread the meringue over the pudding mixture and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, for 1 day.

SOUTHERN SIMPLE: When beating egg whites, make sure not a speck of yolk gets in and that your bowl and beaters are squeaky clean, without a trace of fat or buttery fingerprints, so your whites will whip up to their highest height.

SOUTHERN SIMPLE: Look for sweetened shredded coconut in the grocer’s freezer. It has a fresher taste than the bags in the baking aisle.

SOUTHERN MOTHER: A can of evaporated milk shows up in many, many old Southern recipes. Obviously convenience is one reason, since having shelf-stable milk in the pantry is always handy, and many of these recipes have come from Depression-era rural areas and before many homes had electricity to run a refrigerator. Evaporated milk is also richer than whole milk and can bake longer and at a higher temperature without separating.