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Dessert

Prune Mould

A dessert mould made from stewed prunes, claret, sugar, and gelatin, served with custard or whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Prune Mould

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the prunes

  1. Stew the prunes in the water until tender, about 2 hours for hard prunes.

  2. Remove the stones from the prunes.

Set the mould

  1. Add the claret, sugar, and gelatine dissolved in a little water.

  2. Pour the mixture into a border mould that has been dipped in water.

  3. Once cold, turn out the mould and fill the center with custard or whipped cream.

  4. Garnish with blanched almonds or glace cherries if desired.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Prunes
Provide the main body and sweet, concentrated fruit flavour of the mould.
Gelatine
Sets the liquid mixture so it holds its shape when turned out.
Castor sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the prunes and claret.
Claret
Adds acidity and wine flavour that complements the stewed prunes.

The step that matters

Pour the mixture into a border mould that has been dipped in water.. Gelatine mixtures stick to metal when they set, and a water-dipped mould lets the set jelly release cleanly when turned out. Unsure cooks may skip this, causing the mould to tear or break.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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