Queen of Puddings

First, pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, sugar, lemon zest and butter then leave for twenty minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to swell. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Now lightly beat the egg yolks and add them to the cooled breadcrumb mixture. Pour it all into the pie dish. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 – 35 minutes, or until set. 

 Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt the raspberry jam over a low heat and, when the pudding is ready, remove it from the oven and spread the jam carefully and evenly all over the top.

Next, using an electric hand whisk, lightly beat the egg whites in a large scrupulously clean bowl until stiff, then whisk in the 40g of caster sugar and spoon this meringue mixture over the pudding, going around the edge of the dish first, then filling in the centre. 
Use the back of the spoon to spread out the mixture and fill any gaps. 
 Finally, sprinkle the heaped teaspoon of caster sugar over it all and bake for a further 10-15 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm from the oven with some chilled pouring cream, but it’s still good when it’s cold.