Queen of Puddings from the 1940s

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My daughter decided to make Queen of Puddings from the 1940s and it was absolutely delicious!! We got the recipe from Baking Yesteryear: The Best recipes from the 1900s to 1980s by B. Dylan Hollis which has a lot of great recipes in it, but there’s tons of versions of this recipe everywhere!

Queen of Puddings is a British dessert which consists of a custardy-bread base, a sweet jam layer and topped with a fluffy meringue. It dates back to the late 1600s where old breadcrumbs were soaked in milk, and then baked. It’s similar to Manchester Pudding or Manchester Tart from the 1860s which includes a pie crust base, breadcrumbs cooked in milk infused with lemon and brandy, a bit of sugar and a layer of jam in between the crust and pudding layer. It’s not typically served with a meringue but rather sugar and glacé cherries. It’s believed the Queen of Puddings was based on the Manchester Pudding and named after Queen Victoria. This dessert became popular in the mid-1900s and more so after wartime.

It’s a delectable dessert. The smooth creamy custard and soft bread, sweet jam layer and golden airy meringue is a great way to end a meal. It’s the queen of bread puddings!

Instead of raspberry jam, we used strawberry jam which was so good! It’s much better than other traditional bread puddings we’ve had before and we thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Let’s get to it!

Combine eggs and sugar. Whisk until creamy. Add warm milk and vanilla while whisking.

Remove crusts, chop bread and place in a greased casserole dish.

Spoon custard base all over the bread.

Let stand 10 minutes. The bread will absorb the custard. This works better if the bread is a day or two old.

Here is the bread pudding after sitting 10 minutes. It’s now time to bake. Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden and custard has set.

Here’s the bread pudding. Looks delicious! It will be puffy, but as you mix the whites it will deflate and that’s totally ok!

Spread jam over top. Typically is raspberry jam or seedless jelly but we are using strawberry jam.

Whip egg whites to stiff peaks. If beating by hand, I add a pinch of cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites and then whip to soft peaks. Then gradually add sugar until stiff peaks form.