To make an Almond Pudding. is a traditional Stuart recipe for a classic and pudding made from a blend of cream and pounded almonds with sugar, dates and spices that's thickened with eggs and served garnished with wafers and muskedines. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Stuart version of: To make an Almond Pudding.
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
Original Recipe
To make an Almond Pudding. (from Robert May's Accomplisht Cook 1660)
To make an Almond Pudding.
Blanch and beat a pound of almonds, strain them with a quart of cream, a grated, penny manchet searsed, four eggs, some sugar, nutmeg grated, some dates, & salt; boil it, and serve it in a dish with beaten butter, stick it with some muskedines, or wafers, and scraping sugar.
In this recipe, the muskedines are sweetmeats or comfits (spice seeds coated in sugar) that are flavoured with musk.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
225g blanched almonds
500ml double cream
60g fine breadcrumbs
2 eggs
60g sugar
1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
50g pitted dates, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp golden caster sugar muskadine comfits and/or wafers, to garnish
Method:
Beat the almonds to a paste in a mortar (add a little of the cream every now and then to prevent them from oiling. Place in a bowl then stir in the cream and breadcrumbs before beating the eggs. Set aside to infuse for 20 minutes then pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon.
Beat in the sugar then add the nutmeg, dates and salt. Turn into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook gently until the custard has thickened (it should be stiff enough that the wafers will stand up in it). Turn into a serving bowl, garnish with the muskadine comfits and/or wafers then scatter over the golden caster sugar and serve.
