Allinson serves up a slice of Victorian life
Thomas Allinson's Winifred pudding was a popular Victorian dessert.
© National Trust
Latest update 22.11.2011 16:37
Thomas Allinson was a man far ahead of his time – a healthy eating visionary. A strong advocate of the vegetarian diet, Allinson devised a series of recipes, which promoted his wholesome and hearty views on living.
Inspired by the Victorian era and the growing popularity for Victorian themed dishes, Allinson has partnered with well-respected food historian Caroline Yeldham to recreate one of Thomas Allinson’s recipes, the Winifred Pudding, for the National Trust.
Developed by Thomas Allinson almost 100 years ago, the Winifred Pudding contains a simple selection of everyday ingredients such as wholemeal bread, milk, eggs, butter and lemon.
Historically, bread based puddings have always been a tradition within British cooking dating back to the late 16th century when the Devonshire Pudding, an early version of the popular bread and butter pudding, was first introduced to dinner tables.
By the end of the 18th century these puddings became far more ornate with a base of puff pastry and often a layer of jam under the bread filling. Currants were regularly included and lemon was a favourite flavouring along with mace and nutmeg.
Thomas Allinson’s recipe also introduced a rather unusual cookery technique for preparing the dish – creaming the sugar and butter together, as for a cake, which made for a much lighter pudding. This technique is not recorded in any of the popular cookery books of the time.
Food historian Caroline Yeldham said:
'The Winifred Pudding is a delicious taste of Victorian cooking, from Allinson's 1915 book on Vegetarian Cookery - a light, lemony bread pudding, which is a synthesis of the older whitepot and the newer cake-making techniques.'
The Thomas Allinson Winifred Pudding will be available to eat at the following National Trust properties throughout the winter:
* Lanhydrock, Cornwall
* Scotney Castle, Kent
* Stowe Landscape Garden, Buckinghamshire
* The Vyne, Hampshire
* Blickling, Norfolk
* Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire
* Dunham Massey Hall, Cheshire
* Cragside, Northumberland
* Penrhyn Castle, Bangor
* Tyntesfield, Bristol
* Osterley Park, Middlesex
* Polesden Lacey, Surrey
* Ham House, Surrey
If you are unable to visit a participating National Trust property this winter, then why not try to recreate the Winifred Pudding in your own home by following our recipe.