Jenny gave us some pretty wild instructions down the phone on how to arrive at her house in a quiet British village a few hours out of London. We had assured her we only needed a postcode to pinpoint her with the sat nav, but she insisted on reeling off the directions she had memorised all of her life, down to which coloured gate to turn at and which tree to stop at following turning right at the school.
On a typically soggy day for southern England, we were welcomed into the warmth of Jenny’s kitchen, thoroughly toasty thanks to an old Aga oven that is never switched off. She was fresh from her daily three- hour ramble with Toby the terrier, so dripping wet in an anorak, she let us in, past the chainsaws and the jam cupboard, for a cup of tea and an afternoon of meringue making.
Hardened in her country manner but soft and maternal in her sentiment, Jenny let us in on so many secrets this day. In spite of being a seasoned chainsaw wielder, she’s also a committed mother and grandmother. She laid on an enormous spread for us and admitted her relationship with her own mother had been so fraught, that it had taught her to be a better mother to her own children. She had never had dessert as a child, so in her adult life, in role of mummy and granny, she became The Queen of Puddings, whizz with a whisk and master of all things sweet.
Feeds 6
Takes 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
25g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
600ml whole milk
zest of 2 lemons
90g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
150g homemade white breadcrumbs (great for using up stale bread)
3 eggs, separated
6 tbsp raspberry jam (Jenny’s was homemade, of course)
Method
Grease a 22cm pie dish with a little butter and preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C/gas 4.
Warm the milk in a medium saucepan, then add the butter, lemon zest and 40g caster sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Now mix in the breadcrumbs and turn off the heat. Leave for 15–20 minutes to soak and cool a little.
When the time is up, whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and stir them into the cooled mixture. Then pour everything into the buttered pie dish and put in the oven for 30 minutes to cook until set.
Remove from the oven and put to one side while you whip up the meringue. Using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff enough to hold over your head. Whisk in the remaining 50g caster sugar.
Take your pie dish and spread a layer of raspberry jam over the custardy base. Then spoon the meringue mixture on top of this, spreading it from the middle outwards.
Sprinkle with 1 tsp caster sugar and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly crisp on top.
Serve warm from the oven with cream, ice cream or custard.
