I recently watched Anne with an E on Netflix, a filmed version of some of the Anne Shirley novels (1908-1939) by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and took an interest in Canadian food. The fictional characters live on Prince Edward Island, which lies off Quebec. Besides the native Indians, the area was inhabited by French people who, by the end of the nineteenth century had been restricted to specific parts of the island. The food references in Anne with an E were therefore predominantly English: stew, pudding, cake.
This is confirmed by The Home cook book, a compilation of homemade recipes published in 1877, about twenty years before Montgomery's first novel begins. The recipes were contributed by ladies from Toronto and other cities, whose names are not specified. The dessert section is basically composed of puddings - and pies. Since most of these recipes are featured in 18th century sources as well as this blog, I opted for a lemon pudding that happens to be on my favorites list. I began experimenting with lemon puddings two decades ago myself and this version is the closest there is to perfection.
Mrs. Wyllie.
Half pound of sugar, half pound of butter, five eggs, half gill brandy, rind and juice of one large lemon; beat well the butter and sugar; whisk the eggs; add them to the lemon, grate the peel; line a dish with puff paste and bake in a moderate oven."
LEMON PUDDING (& TART)
For the pudding and tart pictured above, I split the filling ingredients in two parts and halved the dough recipe. If you wish to make one or the other, please follow the method instructions.
I n g r e d i e n t s
A) LEMON PUDDING
225g butter, softened
225g sugar
5 eggs
rind & juice of a lemon
60ml brandy
B) LEMON TART
for the filling:
see above
for the shell:
250g flour
125g butter, cubed
a pinch of salt
water as needed
M e t h o d
For the lemon pudding: Beat the butter, sugar & egg yolks until very light, gradually adding the flavors. Whisk the egg whites until very stiff. Combine the mixtures and transfer into a heatproof glass baking pan or individual ramekins. Bake at 180oC in a roasting pan full of hot water, covered with aluminum foil if needed.
For the lemon tart: Make the dough, shape into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then roll out into a 2cm-thick disc and fit into a greased tart pan. Prick all over with a fork, line with parchment paper, and cover with rice. Bake at 180oC for 15 minutes. Combine the filling ingredients as for the pudding. Fill into the shell and bake until golden.
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