Full question
Made the Forgotten Pudding as written, it came out very brown and hard. I knew something was wrong when 15 minutes into baking I could smell a burned sugar type smell. I've checked my oven temperature recently and it's on target, so I'm not sure what went wrong or how to fix it the next time, I'm guessing starting at 450F was way too hot?
Our answer
Nigella's Forgotten Pudding (from NIGELLA EXPRESS) is a meringue that is put into a hot oven. Tbe oven is turned off and the meringue cooks overnight in the cooling oven to give a tender, marshmallow texture with a slight crust. Usually you start with a very hot oven, so that the meringue takes on just a little colour in the first few minutes.
It would be unusual for the meringue to burn as the heat is residual rather than direct and most ovens cool down fairly quickly to a level which will not burn the sugar. We would mention that a UK Swiss roll tin should be around 23 x 32 cm, or roughy 9 x 13 inches, which may be slightly smaller than a US jelly roll pan (usually 10 x 15 inches). If it is in a larger pan then the meringue will be in a thinner layer and could explain why it turned hard. Also, if you have a convection oven then you may need to reduce the heat to 425F or 400F. But we would initially suggest checking the pan size and using a smaller pan (such as a quarter sheet pan), if necessary.
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