Charles Dickens' Chocolate Pudding

From Household Words, 1881-

Easy Peasy. First I assembled the ingredients- 

                3 eggs, separated 

          .25 LB of sugar

And then Schweitzer's Cocoatina? 

Yeah. They don't make that anymore. I just used what I had on hand. 

          "Since 1894". We're in the right ballpark.

I brought a pint of milk to boil and added the half pound of stale bread.

As per Dickens' instructions, I cooked it until it became a thick paste and then added the butter, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and eggs. 

Hmmmmm.

I poured it into the greased baking dish, and guessed at the oven temp, setting it at 375. 

                                                                 

As it baked, I was shocked at the scent emitting from the kitchen. It was pleasant, like brownies. This was a completely unexpected development. *Insert Great Expectations double entendre here*. After 45 minutes, I pulled it out of the oven.

Slice and serve.

I tastes better than it looks, but not by much. It doesn't taste bad, it just doesn't taste like much of anything. It's sweet, and very mildly chocolaty, but it lacks any depth or complexity. Overall, it's pretty bland. The plainest hot chocolate would probably be more satisfying. The texture is a cross between a fallen soufflé and a brownie that hasn't been properly mixed. It's not unpleasant, just unusual. Johnny Murder says, "It was very off-pudding." Ha. 

I rate this recipe- 

4 Great Expectations for cooking instructions

2 David Copperfields for taste 

Resulting in a composite score of 3 Oliver Twists.