Delicious Lemon Pudding (1877) ★★★★★

12:00 AM 1870s , 19th century , 5 stars , dessert , fruit , pastry , pie , pudding , united states , victorian 0 Comments

Is it just me or does it seem like everything in baking was called "pudding" at one time or another?
Seriously, pudding is so confusing.
So apparently this is a "delicious lemon pudding", but it really just seems like a lemon meringue pie...

Original Recipe:

The Verdict:
I was kind of worried about this pudding because when I baked it the custard made this huge dome in the middle which I had to deflate. So the lemon layer was very thin in places. I also was milliseconds away from burning the meringue. People, be careful with your broilers. It was barely brown and about 30 seconds later it was smoking. Ahh!
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised! The whole thing was quite tasty. I used butter in the crust and it was yummy and buttery and held up well. The lemon filling was thick and quite tart. The meringue was nice too. I used 1/3 cup of milk for the filling, which didn't make very much, so I was glad to have the meringue because it filled up all the extra space perfectly.
Really this is a lemon meringue pie. I mean, I'm not sure if it was meant to be baked in a circular shape, but that's what I went with. Mr. Man gave it five stars, even though he hates meringue. I would have to concur. I can't think of anything to change!

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Buckeye Cookery, And Practical Housekeeping: Compiled From Original Recipes)

1 LEMON
1 cup SUGAR
2 EGGS, separated
3 tablespoons FLOUR
MILK (I used 1/3 cup)
1 PREPARED PIE CRUST*
4 tablespoons SUGAR

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Make pie crust if needed.
2. Zest the lemon and juice it. In a medium bowl, mix the lemon zest and juice with the sugar, egg yolks, flour, and enough milk to fill your baking dish. Make sure there are no lumps of flour.
3. Line the baking dish with the prepared pie crust. Pour in the lemon filling and bake until thick and done, about 25 - 30 minutes.
4. While the pudding is baking, whip the egg whites with 4 tablespoons of sugar until stiff. When the pudding is done, spread the whites on top and brown in the oven. Serve.

*The recipe doesn't give directions for the crust ("paste"), so I used a recipe from the same cookbook:
GOOD COMMON PASTE.
One coffee-cup lard, three of sifted flour, and a little salt. In winter, soften the lard a little (but not in summer), cut it well into the flour with a knife, then mix with cold water quickly into a moderately stiff dough, handling as little as possible. This makes four common-sized covered pies. Take a new slice of paste each time for top crust, using the trimmings, etc., for under crust.--Miss Katy Rupp.