Rose Prince’s water pudding recipe

‘Despite the rather austere name of this pudding, it's a gloriously sharp, refreshing and wonderful old English recipe brought to us by the irrepressible Rose Prince. She's spent the past two decades informing us about British produce and recipes, as well as finding new and exciting food producers up and down the country. Her recipes are never complicated and always give a nod to the past with their historical context, but have an equally firm footing in the present. This is a brilliantly citrusy and light pudding to cook over Easter as an antidote to all those chocolate eggs. I'll be eating it swimming in thick, locally produced English cream'

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Thomasina Miers

Water pudding

Extract from Rose Prince's The New English Table Published by Fourth Estate

Serves 6

Ingredients:

150ml/¼ pint warm (just above hand-hot) water 100g/3½oz caster sugar Juice and grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon (this is an instance where unwaxed lemon makes a real difference to the flavour) 100g/3½oz very soft unsalted butter, plus a little extra for greasing 4 eggs, separated

Method

Preheat the oven to 150˚C/

300˚F/gas mark 2. Pour boiling water into a roasting tin so it is 2cm/¾in deep and place it in the oven. Butter 6 small ramekins.

Combine the water with the sugar, lemon juice and zest and butter, then whisk by hand. The butter should break down into small, floating globules. Lightly beat the egg yolks and stir them into the mixture.

Put the egg whites in a separate bowl and whisk until stiff. Fold them into the egg and lemon mixture, then pour into the ramekins. Place the ramekins in the roasting tin of hot water and bake for 1 hour. Serve immediately, or lukewarm.

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