“There is nothing worse than going for Christmas lunch and finding someone’s done something interesting,” Nigella Lawson declared in her first food column in British Vogue’s December 1995 issue. “I don’t want pheasant Marengo or lobster medallions in Armagnac sauce; I want turkey, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, bread sauce, roast potatoes, dense, aromatic, herby stuffing, and a great pink roast ham, parsley-smothered or spiked with mustard, too.”
She was, however, willing to make certain concessions when it comes to dessert – offering a delicious alternative to a traditional Christmas pudding. “Many nursery puddings have found fashionable favour now, but this – aptly named, since it’s the best – is routinely ignored. I have called it a Christmas queen of puddings because instead of using breadcrumbs in the custard base, I have used panettone – traditionally eaten at Christmas time in Italy, but now all over the place all year round – processed into crumbs. It gives up a wonderfully fragrant, yeasty, festive smell. I always add orange zest to the base (using a zester rather than a grater; it’s easier) and use marmalade instead of the more usual jam. I add a bit of golden syrup to sweeten the marmalade, but this version is altogether less sugary than the jammy one.”
“This is pretty easy to do, and the meagre efforts are translated into great effect,” she adds. “Since Christmas is very much the season for déclassé liqueurs, serve this dish hot with some thick double cream with a splash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau whipped into it.” Find her original recipe for the festive showstopper, below.
Christmas Queen Of Puddings
Serves 4 to 6
- 150g panettone breadcrumbs
- 1 ½ tsps caster sugar
- Zest of 1 orange, preferably organic
- Orange flower water, optional
- 575ml full-fat milk
- 40g unsalted butter plus butter for greasing dish
- 5 large eggs
- 3 to 5 tbsps good-quality fine-cut marmalade
- 1 to 2 tsps golden syrup
- 125 caster sugar plus some for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius/gas mark 3. Put the panettone crumbs, the 1 ½ tsps of caster sugar and zest or rind of the orange and a drop or two of orange flower water, if you have it, in a bowl. Heat milk and butter in a pan until hot but not boiling, then stir into bowl of crumbs. Leave to steep for about 10 minutes, and then beat in egg yolks thoroughly.
Grease a shallow dish with butter (I use a round dish about 5cms deep and 25cms in diameter, but an oval dish is traditional) and pour in the crumb custard. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius/gas mark 3 for 30 to 40 minutes depending on size of dish. When ready the custard should be set on top, but may still be slightly runny underneath. Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes so that the top becomes a bit firmer – while you heat the marmalade in a pan and beat the egg whites will be long enough. Add a tsp or so of golden syrup to the hot marmalade and then pour over the surface of the custard.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and then whisk in half the sugar. In a few seconds, the egg whites will become smooth and gleaming. Then fold in the remaining sugar with a metal spoon. Cover the pudding with meringue, sprinkle with a tsp or so of sugar and then put back in the oven for about 20 minutes or until meringue is browned and crispish.
