3 JANUARY 1981, Page 15

Pudding and pie

Sir: Lynn Barber's review of Darling, You Shouldn't Have Gone to So Much Trouble by Caroline Blackwood and Anna Haycraft (13 December) is distinctly uncomplimentary about the author's recipe for 'Toby's Pudding', which involves boiling an unopened tin of condensed milk for three to four hours and serving the resultant brown goo to one's guests. I bet Ms Barber has never tried eating Toby's Pudding (previously known to me as Bonoffi Pie). I have, several times, and I can assure her that it is quite delicious. You can make almost any food or drink sound repulsive if you try. Has Mr Barber ever reflected that whenever she invites her neighbours round for a cup of tea, she is saturating a whole lot of dry, shrivelled, chopped-up leaves in boiling water, slopping in a dollop of cow's milk and serving the resultant brown goo to her guests?

F C Campbell 13 Vincent Road, Dorking, Surrey