Duke of Cambridge pudding

Duke of Cambridge pudding is a tart. The word ‘pudding’ tells you just how old this recipe is; I’m not sure how old but it seems to predate the Bakewell Pudding (another tart) from Derbyshire. There are more modern versions of this recipe using glace cherries and raisons and, sometimes, rum or brandy. This is a no-no: stick to candied peel and save the booze for another occasion.

My recipe comes from ‘Super Scoff’ a charity book published in 1970 in aid of Warwickshire Youth Clubs. It’s full of retro dishes like Iced Prawn Curry and Tuna Fish Starter (tinned tuna, tinned mushroom soup and a couple of packets of chicken flavoured crisps), although it’s clear the lovely ladies who donated the recipes had started to encounter the Mediterranean with Sopa de Ajo and Taramasalata.

The recipe is a slight adaptation of one given by Mrs Blackie from Stratford upon Avon.  You will need a 25cm loose-bottomed flan tin.

250g ready to roll short crust pastry

250g chopped candied peel, approximately

150g castor sugar

150g unsalted butter

4 free range egg yolks, beaten

zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas Mark 3/325F

Butter the flan tin. Roll out the pastry to ½ centimetre thick and line the tin with it. Scatter the candied peel over the pastry so that it covers the pastry bottom in one layer. Be generous – you may need a little more than the stated amount.

Melt the butter with the sugar in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and beat in the egg yolks and the lemon zest. Pour this mixture evenly over the candied peel and bake the pudding in the oven for 30 minutes or so until the top is caramel coloured but not burnt.

This is best eaten warm, not piping hot, with a dollop of double cream or crème fraiche.

Serves 8 people.