“Butter a pie-dish and spread a layer of crumbled bread, then a layer of apples cored and sliced, sprinkle a little sugar and nutmeg, put more bread crumbs and more apples until the dish is filled, leaving off with a rather thick later of bread crumbs. Pour over the top some melted fresh butter and bake an hour.”
Anon, Four Hundred Household Recipes (1868)
The volume from which this recipe is taken seems to be a miscellaneous collection of recipes from other sources, possibly compiled from other cookery books or magazine articles, credited to no particular author or authors, and published by W. Mack of Steam Press in Bristol1Steam Press was based at no. 38 Park Street; by the looks of Google Street View it’s currently occupied by a travel agent and next door to the much more interesting-looking Hobgoblin Music… in 1868.
The recipe is for a bread & butter / apple pudding hybrid, “without paste” meaning that no pastry is involved. It sounds incredibly simple to make and rather tasty, if a bit stodgy and plain – surely some dried fruit and a few more spices than just nutmeg would liven it up a bit, unless the beauty of it is in its hearty simplicity – and if it wasn’t for my (strongly suspected) gluten intolerance, I’d be cooking one up tonight.
I suppose I could always wait until I’ve baked my next GF soda loaf and devote half of it to crumbing and baking the above. There’s a thought. In the meantime, I’ve made, eaten and am perfectly happy with Eliza Smith’s Essex Pudding (Cheap and Good), which is definitely going to be my go-to autumn / winter pud this year.
If you happen to beat me to it and try the recipe above, please do let me know how you get on. You can leave a comment, below, or drop me a line with your notes and photos.
Footnotes
- 1Steam Press was based at no. 38 Park Street; by the looks of Google Street View it’s currently occupied by a travel agent and next door to the much more interesting-looking Hobgoblin Music…