Carrot Pudding
In Treacherous Shoal, by Janice Sebring, Elsie has carrot pudding for Frederick when he returns to Charles Town from London in 1762.
This recipe is from Colonial Williamsburg, based on that given in Hannah Glasse’s 1747 The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. It is not the heavy boiled or steamed puddings that were a staple of British cooking of the time but something closer to custard. Although baked, the use of bread crumbs and butter shows its kinship to the British pudding. The original had half a pound of butter. In the 18th century, the cows just kept producing milk, and people needed ways to use the resulting dairy products. I cut the amount in half. It still oozes butter when cooking, although it reabsorbes most of it after it comes out of the oven. You might wish to cut it in half again. This produces a sweet custard-like dish reminiscent of pumpkin pie. If you want it to be more of a side and less of a dessert, cut the sugar in half as well.
1/2 lb. carrot
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup sugar (or to taste)
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs plus 4 yolks
1 cup cream
1/4 lb (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons sherry
2 teaspoons orange-flower water
Ingredients
Directions
1. Take the carrot, scraped and cut into pieces, and boil until every soft. When cool, use a food processor or blender to reduce them to very fine pieces.
2. Put the carrots in a large bowl, then add the bread crumbs, sugar, nutmeg, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the cream, melted butter, orange-flower water, and sherry.
4. Blend the egg mixture into the carrots and stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Pour into a greased 9x9 pan and baked at 350° for 30-40 minutes. It’s done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
