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Dessert

Royal Apple Pudding

A pudding of apples filled with a sweetened mixture of apple, almonds, raisins and cinnamon, baked and topped with meringue.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mackay, L. Gertrude. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Royal Apple Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the apple shells

  1. Select enough large apples to fill a pudding dish.

  2. Pare the apples, cut a thick slice from the top and save it.

  3. Core the apples and scrape out the centers until only a thin wall is left.

  4. To the scrapings add a finely chopped apple, a few chopped almonds and raisins, a little sugar and cinnamon.

  5. Press the mixture into the apple shells and replace the lids.

Make the custard topping

  1. Place the apples in a well buttered baking dish.

  2. Set the dish in a pan of hot water and bake until the apples are tender.

  3. Beat four whole eggs until light colored. Gradually add a scant cup of sugar to the eggs.

  4. Pour the egg mixture over the apples.

  5. Bake in a moderate oven until the meringue is done.

Serve

  1. Serve with cream or lemon sauce.

Make the steamed apple dough

  1. Mix and sift two cups of flour, four teaspoons of baking powder and one-half teaspoon of salt. Work in two tablespoons of butter. Gradually add three-fourths cup of milk.

  2. Toss on a floured board, pat and roll out the dough.

  3. Have ready four apples pared, cored and cut into eighths.

  4. Place the apples in the center of the dough and sprinkle with one tablespoon of sugar mixed with one-fourth tablespoon each of salt and cinnamon or nutmeg.

  5. Bring the dough around the apples and carefully lift into a buttered mould or a five-pound lard pail.

  6. Cover closely, place on a trivet in a kettle containing boiling water, cover the kettle and steam for one hour and twenty-five minutes, adding more boiling water if necessary.

  7. Allow the water to come up half way around the mould.

  8. Serve with Huntington sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

946Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
148 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mackay, L. Gertrude. [from old catalog]. 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. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Beaten eggs set the custard topping and give it structure as it bakes.
Flour
Forms the structure of the dough that wraps and holds the apples while steaming.
Baking powder
Releases gas that makes the dough rise and turn light and tender.
Butter
Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and enriches the flavor.
Milk
Hydrates the flour to form a workable dough and adds richness.
Apples
Provide moisture, tartness and tender fruit filling in both dishes.

The step that matters

Steam with enough boiling water. Steaming gently cooks the dough through with moist heat. If the water runs low, the dough can dry out and cook unevenly, so the water level must be kept up as the recipe directs.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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