Tapioca Pudding

• Cover the tapioca with water and soak all night. Then boil it till tender. Make a custard of the five yolks, sugar and milk. Drain the tapioca. Put it into a large basin, adding a very little salt. Pour the custard over it and beat well together, adding the vanilla. Whip the whites to a firm froth. Stir them lightly in. Butter a pudding-dish and pour in the mixture. Set it in a pan of boiling water in a very moderate oven. Cover it with a dish. Bake until the custard becomes thick and a little set (it must not be as firm as a baked custard). Brown with a salamander or set in a hot oven for a few minutes.

Custard

• Beat the yolks in a good sized basin until light and creamy. Add the sugar and a very little salt. Scald the milk and pour it gradually over the yolks, stirring constantly whilst doing so. Pour the custard back into a double-boiler in the outer part of which is very hot water. Stir continually until the custard thickens. When it is thick enough it will coat the spoon. It must not boil or the custard will curdle. Strain at once into a jug. Add the flavouring when cool.