Ingredients – 1 pint of milk, the yolks of 8 eggs, 6 oz. Of sugar, 1 oz of isinglass, flavouring to taste of essence of vanilla.

Mode –  Put the milk and the sugar into a saucepan, and let it get hot over a slow fire; beat up the yolks of the eggs, to which add gradually the sweetened milk; flavour the whole with essence of vanilla, put the mixture into a jug, and place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water. Stir the contents with a wooden spoon one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it will be full of lumps.  Take it off the fire; stir in the isinglass, which should be previously dissolved in about ¼ pint of water, and boiled for 2 or 3 minutes; pour the cream into an oiled mould, put it in a cool place to set, and turn it out carefully on a dish.  Instead of using essence of vanilla, a pod may be boiled in the milk instead, until the flavour is well extracted.  A pod, or a pod and a half, will be found sufficient for the above proportion of ingredients.  Mrs Beeton

JL note – if you want to be really authentic with this, isinglass is still available (but expensive) from some chemists. However, as it was the precurser to gelatine, we use powedered geliatine you can buy from any supermarket – one packet will set one pint.