Skip to main content
Dessert

A Cabinet Pudding

A rich pudding made with raisins, sponge cakes, macaroons, ratifias, candied citron, eggs, milk, cream, and sugar, steamed or boiled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 12 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Milk and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,155 recipes. Both carry decanoic acid, which smells acides aroma. The science ↓

A Cabinet Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mould

  1. Split and stone three dozen fine jar raisins, or take an equal number of dried cherries.

  2. Place the raisins or cherries regularly in a pattern in a thickly-buttered plain quart mould or basin.

  3. Slice and lay into the mould three penny sponge cakes.

  4. Add to the mould two ounces of ratifias, four macaroons, and an ounce and a half of candied citron sliced thin.

Make the custard

  1. Whisk together the yolks of four eggs with the whites of three eggs, then mix with half a pint of new milk.

  2. Strain the mixture into half a pint of sweet cream.

  3. Sweeten with two ounces and a half of pounded sugar.

  4. Fill the mould exactly with the mixture.

Cook and serve

  1. Steam the pudding, or boil it very gently for one hour.

  2. Let it stand a few minutes before dishing, so it does not break.

  3. Serve with good wine or brandy sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

340Calories
15 gProtein
19 gFat
29 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51

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

By Eliza Acton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,155 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).

  2. Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,399 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Raisin + eggtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,556 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set the custard and bind the pudding so it holds its shape when turned out.
Milk
Provides the liquid that, with the eggs, forms a soft custard around the cakes and fruit.
Sweet cream
Adds richness and fat, giving the custard a smoother, softer texture.
Sponge cakes
Soak up the custard and form the tender body of the pudding.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chew, set in a pattern as the visible decoration.
Sugar (in the method)
Sweetens the custard, balancing the richness of the eggs and cream.

The step that matters

Fill the mould exactly and let it stand before dishing. Egg custard sets as it cooks, so the mould must be filled to the brim to hold its shape. Resting briefly lets the set firm up, so the pudding does not break when turned out.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, cream, egg):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Strawberryfits better
  3. Raspberryfits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, cream, egg. 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.

More cabinet pudding recipes

Cold 16Sauce 10Royal Iced 3 See all 177 →

You might also like

White CakeWhite Cake431 recipesPound CakePound Cake373 recipesOrange Bundt CakeOrange Bundt Cake349 recipesSpice CakeSpice Cake344 recipes