Monmouth pudding

This  pudding is, as you can tell from the name, from Monmouth, in Wales. It is a cross between an egg custard, bread and butter pudding and a meringue fruit tart. It has a breadcrumb base that is cooked in an egg custard a layer of some kind of fruit and then topped with meringue. Now all depending on what fruit depends on what is in season, apples, plumbs, rhubarb and summer berries as well.  Also the amount of sugar that you use is up to you in the pudding, I have chose rhubarb for the recipes but the principle is the same what ever it is you are making.

You will need

90g/3 oz Caster Sugar

25g/1 oz  Butter

The zest of 1 Lemon

450g/17 fl oz Milk

180g/6oz  Breadcrumbs

3 medium Eggs

210g/7 oz cooked sweetened rhubarb

Now for the bread crumbs that you need to use I would use white stale bread no crusts if at all possible to make the best pudding. Also for you cooked fruit do not use to wet a mix as this will just send every thing very sloppy as you serve it .

Start by taking about 25g/1 oz of the sugar, the butter, lemon zest and milk and put it all in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then  remove from the heat and take your bread crumbs and stir them in to the milk then let the mix cool for a little.

Take your eggs and separate them, tale the egg yolks and mix them in to the bread crumb mix. Then place this mix in to a dish that you are going to bake the pudding in and bake in a preheated oven set at 160c/325f for about 30 minutes. Once baked remove from the oven.

Now take your fruit and layer that over the top of the breadcrumb base.  Take your egg whites and beat them until you have a good stiff peak then add the rest of the sugar a little at a time to make the meringue. Spoon or pipe your meringue over the top of the cooked fruit and then put this all back in to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the peaks of the meringue start to go nice and golden, brown it is ready to serve.