This is a quintessentially English milk pudding that apparently wasn’t invented for a queen at all. A similar pudding, called Monmouth Pudding was first baked in the 17th Century, and an identical pudding called Manchester Pudding was popular in the 19th Century. Some food historians believe that the Manchester Pudding renamed when Queen Victoria admired it on a visit to Manchester: however this pudding got its name, it is still very popular today. I like serving individual puddings, but it works equally well in a 1 litre ovenproof dish.
Preheat the oven to 180/160 fan/Gas 4. Lightly grease the ramekins with dairy free spread and place on a baking sheet.
Put the 50g dairy free spread, sugar, lemon zest, coconut milk and salt into a medium heavy based saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
Remove from the heat and add the breadcrumbs. Leave to cool and thicken, stirring often, about 20 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks into the cooled breadcrumb mixture
Spoon the mixture carefully into the greased ramekins and transfer to the oven for 15 minutes or until just set. The mixture will puff up quite a lot but will settle as it cools.
Warm the raspberry jam gently in a small saucepan
Remove the puddings from the oven and very carefully spoon the raspberry jam over the surface of each pudding.
Use an electric hand mixer and whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks then whisk in the caster sugar, don’t over whisk.
Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe the meringue into a swirl on top of each pudding. Sprinkle evenly with the granulated sugar.
Cook in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the meringue is lightly brown and crisp. Leave 5 minutes before serving
