"Pare, cut into quarters, and core eight good sized baking apples ; put them into a stewpan, add a bit of lemon-peel, and a table spoonful of rose water, cover the pan close, place it over a slow fire, and when the apples are tender, rub them through a hair-sieve ; then add to the pulp a small quantity of sifted cinnamon, cloves and sugar, four eggs well beaten, and a quarter of a pound of the crumb of French bread soaked in a gill of cream, and mix all the ingredients together. Rub the inside of a mould with fresh butter, fill it with the mixture, bake in a moderately heated oven, when done turn it out on a dish, and serve with sifted sugar over."
John Mollard, The Art of Cookery, New Edition (1836)
This nineteenth century recipe sounds like an apple-y take on a bread pudding. Eight apples, peeled, cut in four and cored, then stewed down with lemon and rose water. Pass the stewed apples through a sieve to make a smooth purée. Add sugar, spices, four eggs and cream-soaked bread crumbs. I’m not sure what Mr. Mollard means by “French bread”, but I suspect it’s not a baguette. (Hopefully someone might recognise the term and leave an enlightening comment below). Put the mixture into a buttered pudding mould, bake on medium until done. Simple.
Never mind sugar sifted over, I reckon a good pour of custard would be an ideal accompaniment. Sounds very tasty indeed to me, and a perfect winter warmer.
What about you? Do you like the sound of this apple-infused, bread and butter pudding of sorts? Are you inspired to give it a try? If so, please do let me know how you get on, either by leaving a comment, below, or by emailing me with your notes and a few photos if you’d like me to write up a blog post on the subject for you.