Puddings and Pastry à la Mode

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Puddings and Pastry à la Mode is a specialized Victorian dessert cookbook compiled by Harriet Anne de Salis and published in 1889. Organized alphabetically, it gathers 151 recipes devoted entirely to puddings, pastries, and related sweet dishes, from simple steamed puddings to elaborate molded desserts intended for formal Victorian dining. The book moves from Albert Pudding through Windsor Tartlets, covering steamed and boiled puddings, fruit desserts, custards, souffles, cheesecakes, and multiple styles of pastry crust including puff-paste and short crust. The author states that the recipes derive from family sources and gastronomic literature, situating the work within a tradition of domestic recipe collection and culinary borrowing typical of the era. Readers will find recipes that reflect the technical sophistication and decorative ambitions of Victorian table service, with attention to molding, layering, icing, and garnishing using ingredients such as candied fruit, angelica, and fondant. This is a narrow, technical reference rather than a general household manual, useful to modern readers interested in the history of English dessert cookery, the vocabulary of nineteenth-century baking, and the elaborate presentation standards of formal Victorian dining. It closes with an index and period advertisements for related household cookbooks.

The book is organized as an alphabetical recipe collection spanning three mechanically gated sections. Section 1 runs from Albert Pudding through Diplomatique Pudding, section 2 continues the alphabet through entries like Dolly Varden Pudding and Every-day Pudding, and section 3 completes the alphabet from Rice Flummery through Windsor Tartlets before concluding with an index and advertisements for other household management cookbooks. Recipe titles function as headings throughout, with instructions following a consistent pattern of ingredients, preparation method, and serving suggestions or sauces.