Grandma's Baked Vanilla Custard Pudding with Apricot Meringue Topping
Old-school comfort, straight from Granny's oven to yours.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 cups full cream milk
- 4 eggs separated
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tbsp smooth apricot jam
- 100ml sugar for the egg whites
Instructions
- Build the base In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt until evenly combined. In a saucepan, gently heat the full cream milk until it's just about to simmer — small bubbles at the edge, not a rolling boil.
- Temper the mixture Off the heat, slowly pour the hot milk into the dry ingredients while whisking constantly, so the flour doesn't clump. Once smooth, return the whole mixture to the saucepan.
- Cook the custard Over very low heat, cook the mixture slowly, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom of the pan. This takes patience — but constant movement is essential to prevent scorching. Cook until thick, smooth, and custard-like.
- Enrich and bake Remove from heat and stir through the butter and vanilla essence until glossy. Pour into a buttered oven dish. Bake at 150–180°C (keep it on the lower end — too hot and the custard will split) for approximately 40 minutes, until lightly golden on top.
- Add the jam Once baked, dot small spoon full of apricot jam evenly across the surface.
- Meringue topping Whisk the reserved egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually beat in the 100ml sugar until glossy and firm. Spoon or pipe dollops over the pudding, then return to a cooler oven just until the meringue turns golden brown with crisp little peaks.
- DIFFICULTY - Easy, just needs patience