Queen of Puddings recipe (2024)

Australian Gourmet Traveller classic dish recipe for Queen of Puddings.

May 19, 2010 11:18pm

By Alice Storey

  • 15 mins preparation
  • 55 mins cooking plus cooling
  • Serves 4
  • Queen of Puddings recipe (1)

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With its custard base, jam centre and fluffy meringue, this pretty, centuries-old pud reigns over more than a few hearts.

Maybe it's the recent popularity of Tim Burton's dark and whimsical rendering of the Lewis Carroll classic, but doesn't the name Queen of Puddings sound distinctly Wonderland-esque? Take just one look at this meringue-topped, jam-sweetened beauty and it's easy to imagine how such a photogenic dessert could transform into a storybook character. White wig piled high atop a round, rosy-cheeked, sticky-lipped (as opposed to lippy-sticked) face, can't you see it?

Alice's adventures aside, this classic British pud, based on a 17th-century recipe, was created for Queen Victoria by her chefs at Buckingham Palace, and is one of the most comforting puddings you could ever hope to encounter. For a pudding fit for a queen, it's remarkably simple and uses the most basic ingredients, which, happily, you're likely to have at hand in the kitchen.

The base is made from fresh breadcrumbs, soaked in a vanilla-flecked, lemon-scented custard and baked until just set. A layer of jam is then spread over the top and the whole lot is crowned with a snowy peak of meringue. Then it's back into the oven just long enough for the meringue to turn golden and the pudding to warm through.

You can use your favourite shop-bought jam if you're short of time, but because many of them have a high sugar content, we've opted to make our own. With less sugar, the flavour of the fruit has a chance to shine, and a little tartness cuts nicely through the sticky sweetness of the meringue and the richness of the custard. All hail the Queen.

Ingredients

  • 140 gm fresh fine breadcrumbs, from white bread
  • Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
  • 200 gm caster sugar
  • 225 ml each milk and pouring cream
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • For greasing: butter

Berry jam

  • 500 gm strawberries, trimmed and quartered
  • 300 gm caster sugar
  • 100 gm frozen raspberries (½ cup)
  • Thinly peeled rind and juice of 1 lemon

Method

Main

  • 1

    For berry jam, combine ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium-high heat and stir frequently until mixture reaches setting point (20-30 minutes; see note), then set aside to cool.

  • 2

    Preheat oven to 180C. Combine breadcrumbs, lemon rind and 40gm sugar in a heatproof bowl, set aside. Bring milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds just to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat, pour onto breadcrumb mixture and stir, then stand until breadcrumbs swell (3-5 minutes). Remove vanilla bean and discard, then stir in yolks until well combined. Spoon into 4 buttered 200ml ovenproof dishes and bake until custard just sets (12-15 minutes). Keep warm.

  • 3

    Meanwhile, whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (3-5 minutes). Gradually add remaining sugar in a steady stream, whisking continuously until stiff and glossy and sugar has dissolved (3-5 minutes). Spread a very thin layer of berry jam over puddings (remaining jam will keep for 1 month), top with meringue and bake until golden (5-10 minutes). Serve hot.

Notes

Note To test setting point, place a few saucers in the freezer while jam is cooking. Remove jam from heat and spoon onto a cold saucer, return to freezer for 30 seconds, then push with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's ready. If not, cook jam for another few minutes, test again, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

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Queen of Puddings recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is queen of pudding made of? ›

Queen of puddings is a quintessentially British dessert made of a custardy bread base, fruit, and meringue. This layered concoction begins with a sweet mixture of milk, cream, eggs, vanilla, and fresh breadcrumbs. Fruit is added either to this base or between the base and the meringue top—the choice is yours.

What is the Lord's Queen of Puddings? ›

Queen of Puddings is a traditional British dessert, consisting of a baked, breadcrumb-thickened egg mixture, spread with jam and topped with meringue. Similar recipes are called Monmouth Pudding and Manchester Pudding.

Is Queen of Puddings served hot or cold in BBC? ›

Spoon or pipe the meringue over the jam layer and bake for another 20-30 mins until the meringue is golden and set. Best served warm.

What are the 3 types of pudding? ›

Baked, steamed, and boiled puddings

These puddings are baked, steamed, or boiled. Depending on its ingredients, such a pudding may be served as a part of the main course or as a dessert.

What was Queen Elizabeth's dessert? ›

Queen Elizabeth's Favorite Cake: Chocolate Biscuit Cake - Chef Darren McGrady | The Royal Chef.

What is the queens favourite pudding? ›

He added: "Probably one of the most popular puddings served at the state banquet was a Bombe Glacée. And I say 'pudding' because, in the royal family, anything that is served after the entre that's sweet is a pudding." Another of the monarch's favourites is a pud called lemon posset.

What does the queen call pudding? ›

In the Royal Family, according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, they use the word 'pudding' to mean dessert after a main meal.

What dessert is named after a queen? ›

Authors explained how to make queen cakes, queen's pancakes, queen's delight, or queen's pudding. Queen's pudding was often a form of what later came to be called apple Charlotte, a name that probably commemorated Queen Charlotte (1744-1818).

What kind of pudding did they eat in A Christmas Carol? ›

Often associated with the original traditions of Christmas, it is most notably referred to in the Christmas carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in the lines "Now bring us some figgy pudding," "We all love our figgy pudding," and "We won't go until we get some!" Figgy pudding is not plum pudding, although it can be ...

How is Yorkshire pudding served? ›

This recipe is simple enough for any weekend meal. Yorkshire pudding is traditionally served with gravy as a starter dish followed by the main dish, or alongside roast beef or similar meat for a dinner spread. Large Yorkshire puddings are filled with things like chili or sausage and served as popular pub food.

What do Brits call pudding? ›

The simple explanation is that Brits use the word 'pudding' to refer to dessert. If they are going to serve you an actual pudding they will specify the type of pudding – for example, sticky toffee pudding or rice pudding.

What is Christmas pudding called? ›

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

What is pig pudding? ›

Popular variants of the recipe consist of pork meat and fat, suet, bread, as well as oatmeal or pearl barley formed into a large sausage—also known as 'groats pudding' and are very similar to a white pudding, whereas other versions of the recipe contain a high percentage of offal such as lung and liver and can more ...

What is the royal pudding made of? ›

Puding Diraja (Pahang Hilir: Pudéang Deghaje; Jawi: ڤوديڠ دراج) also known as Royal Pudding, this dessert was developed and served to the royal family of the Malaysian state of Pahang. Its basic ingredients are pisang lemak manis (a local cultivar of banana), evaporated milk, prunes, candied cherries and cashew nuts.

What is the most expensive pudding in the world? ›

Well, the United Kingdom's well-known chef Marc Guibert came up with the idea of a $35,000 dessert made of pudding, caviar, and gold. Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel is one of England's Lake District's most popular tourist destinations.

What are the white chunks in black pudding? ›

Don't be fooled by all those specks of white you see in the pudding when you slice it open, most of those are grains of barley. Q: What is so special about a Bury Black Pudding? A: Bury is renowned as the home of Black Pudding in England.

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