From 1887:
This recipe was originally supplied by an Italian chef at Milan. Butter a pudding dish, and sprinkle on the butter some coarse-grained brown sugar of a good colour. Cut up some sponge cakes in square pieces, lay them at the bottom of the dish, and over them place bits of good fresh marrow and cherries, which have been preserved in brandy. Then arrange another layer of the sponge cake, and so on until your dish is pretty full. Over all pour a rich custard made of yolks of eggs, cream, and cinnamon only for flavouring. When the cake has absorbed the custard fully, fill up the dish with what remains of the latter, and bake in a slow oven. Turn out, and garnish with more cherries set round the dish in little heaps.