Nicola here. It's been a wonderful week for pageantry in the UK with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. We've had the biggest flotilla of ships on the River Thames since 1662 and a stunning chain of celebratory beacons lighting up the night sky across the country and the world. Here in my country village there have been fetes, afternoon tea parties and barbecues. All the emphasis on food – apart from making my clothes feel quite a bit tighter this week – made me think about trying out a few historical recipes and I thought I would share a few of them here.
For our first course at the village fete we had Jubilee Chicken Mousse and Coronation Chicken with salad. Neither of these recipes is particularly old although they are absolutely delicious. Coronation Chicken was invented in 1953 to be eaten at the Queen's coronation banquet. In 2002 a new updated version was created for the Golden Jubilee with orange, saffron and cinnamon flavours which I think tastes even better than the original. (I do have sme photos but for some reason Typepad won't let me upload them. The chicken mousse looked beautiful and very summery!)
But now for the recipes. First we made Queen Cakes.
These are individual sponge cakes, enriched with currants or sultanas. Recipes date from the 17th
century. In the past, the mixture would sometimes be baked in heart-shaped tins and would then be called heart cakes, which were eaten accompanied by a glass of wine or cider.
To make Queen cakes:
Get a mini muffin tin tray or metal fluted cake tins and brush with melted butter and dust with flour. Beat together 4 oz butter and 4 oz sugar and mix in the zest of one large lemon. Beat the mixture until smooth and then add two eggs, one at a time and beat those in too. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking powder in 2.5 fl oz of cold milk and stir into the mixture. Add 1 oz of ground almonds and sift in 8oz of plain flour and fold through.
Divide the mixture between the cake moulds. Press a layer of currants or sultanas on the surface and bake at 180 C/350F/gas mark 4 for 12 – 15 minutes until risen and set. Remove from the tins, sift with extra sugar and allow to cool.
Queen cakes appear in confectioner's advertisements from the 18th and 19th century. "Seymour's Coffee and Jelly House… Royal queen cakes at 2 d.” From the Gazetteer and London Daily Advertiser, October 16th 1756. In the Victorian era they were very popular and Maria Rundell in “ New System of Domestic Cookery” (1806) calls for them to be made in smart porcelain cups.
My husband's favourite sweet was Queen's Gingerbread. This recipe originated at the court of Queen Elizabeth I where it was considered a “sweetmeat.” It is a dark slab of gingerbread with lots of spices and should be served after dinner with brandy. Recipes for gingerbread are centuries old but it is said that Queen Elizabeth was the first to serve gingerbread men!
To make Queen's Gingerbread:
Line the base of a 8 inch square cake tin with non-stick paper. Heat the over to 180 C/350F/gas mark 4. Place 1lb plain flour, 5 tsp of ginger, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of mace, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Melt 5 oz of unsalted butter in a saucepan then remove from the heat and add 8 oz caster sugar, 5 oz runny honey and 5 oz black treacle, stirring until gently warmed. Pour into the flour and spices, add 3oz of chopped dried apricot and 3oz of chopped glace ginger and mix to a dough. Press the dough evenly into the tin and smooth the flat top. Cut 3oz of almonds in half lengthways and press into the top. Bake for 25 minutes.
I thought I should also create a bit of balance in the blog piece by including a couple of recipes from the
time of Cromwell's Commonwealth. Despite Oliver Cromwell’s famous disapproval for anything that smacked of fun, this was the era when the first coffee houses opened in Oxford. It was also the period when drinking hot chocolate was introduced so it wasn’t all bad. In 1657 London’s very first Chocolate House was advertised: ‘In Bishopsgate Street, in Queen’s Head Alley, at a Frenchman’s house, is an excellent West Indian drink called Chocolate to be sold, where you may have it ready at any time and also unmade at reasonable rates.’
Here are two recipes from the 1650s. Carp Pie:
"After you have drawn, washed and scalded a fair large carp, season it with pepper, salt and nutmeg, then put it in a Coffin with good store of sweet butter and then cast on raisins of the sun, the juice of limons and some slices of orange peels, then sprinkling on a little vinegar, close it and bake it."
To make an Oatmeal-Pudding:
"Take a pint of Milk, and put to it a pint of large, or midling Oatmeal, let it stand on the Fire till it be scalding hot, then let it stand by, and soak about half an hour, then pick a few sweet Herbs, and shred them, and put in half a pound of Currans, and half a pound of Suet, and about two spoonfuls of Sugar, and three or four Eggs; these put into a bag, and boyled, do make a very good Pudding."
Do you have any recipes that you particularly enjoy for special occasions?
I have always fancied syllabub, a very old English recipe. Take a bowl of sweet white wine and put it beneath the cow, then squeeze the milk directly into it….. well, that’s the legend. These days you can dissolve sugar in lemon juice and sweet white wine, add a little orange peel and leave to steep overnight. Then whip up double dream and fold in the lemony mixture. Apparently you can make it with champagne, too.
I have always fancied syllabub, a very old English recipe. Take a bowl of sweet white wine and put it beneath the cow, then squeeze the milk directly into it….. well, that’s the legend. These days you can dissolve sugar in lemon juice and sweet white wine, add a little orange peel and leave to steep overnight. Then whip up double dream and fold in the lemony mixture. Apparently you can make it with champagne, too.
I have always fancied syllabub, a very old English recipe. Take a bowl of sweet white wine and put it beneath the cow, then squeeze the milk directly into it….. well, that’s the legend. These days you can dissolve sugar in lemon juice and sweet white wine, add a little orange peel and leave to steep overnight. Then whip up double dream and fold in the lemony mixture. Apparently you can make it with champagne, too.
I have always fancied syllabub, a very old English recipe. Take a bowl of sweet white wine and put it beneath the cow, then squeeze the milk directly into it….. well, that’s the legend. These days you can dissolve sugar in lemon juice and sweet white wine, add a little orange peel and leave to steep overnight. Then whip up double dream and fold in the lemony mixture. Apparently you can make it with champagne, too.
I have always fancied syllabub, a very old English recipe. Take a bowl of sweet white wine and put it beneath the cow, then squeeze the milk directly into it….. well, that’s the legend. These days you can dissolve sugar in lemon juice and sweet white wine, add a little orange peel and leave to steep overnight. Then whip up double dream and fold in the lemony mixture. Apparently you can make it with champagne, too.
That sounds absolutely delicious, Sarah. I love the idea of making syllabub with champagne. Perfect for a special celebration!
That sounds absolutely delicious, Sarah. I love the idea of making syllabub with champagne. Perfect for a special celebration!
That sounds absolutely delicious, Sarah. I love the idea of making syllabub with champagne. Perfect for a special celebration!
That sounds absolutely delicious, Sarah. I love the idea of making syllabub with champagne. Perfect for a special celebration!
That sounds absolutely delicious, Sarah. I love the idea of making syllabub with champagne. Perfect for a special celebration!
I love to cook! Earl Grey crème brulee is a favorite for dinner parties, and quaking pudding became an oft demanded addition after I tested it out with friends before serving it to the Beau Monde at the San Francisco conference.
I love to cook! Earl Grey crème brulee is a favorite for dinner parties, and quaking pudding became an oft demanded addition after I tested it out with friends before serving it to the Beau Monde at the San Francisco conference.
I love to cook! Earl Grey crème brulee is a favorite for dinner parties, and quaking pudding became an oft demanded addition after I tested it out with friends before serving it to the Beau Monde at the San Francisco conference.
I love to cook! Earl Grey crème brulee is a favorite for dinner parties, and quaking pudding became an oft demanded addition after I tested it out with friends before serving it to the Beau Monde at the San Francisco conference.
I love to cook! Earl Grey crème brulee is a favorite for dinner parties, and quaking pudding became an oft demanded addition after I tested it out with friends before serving it to the Beau Monde at the San Francisco conference.
That sounds delicious, Isobel. Creme brulee is my all time favourite dessert but I have never had the Earl Grey version. Yum!
That sounds delicious, Isobel. Creme brulee is my all time favourite dessert but I have never had the Earl Grey version. Yum!
That sounds delicious, Isobel. Creme brulee is my all time favourite dessert but I have never had the Earl Grey version. Yum!
That sounds delicious, Isobel. Creme brulee is my all time favourite dessert but I have never had the Earl Grey version. Yum!
That sounds delicious, Isobel. Creme brulee is my all time favourite dessert but I have never had the Earl Grey version. Yum!
What a fun post, Nicola! Am drooling with envy over all those of you who got to experience the festivities first-hand.
Can’t wait to try the gingerbread recipe! (Am a bog fan of gingerbread.)
What a fun post, Nicola! Am drooling with envy over all those of you who got to experience the festivities first-hand.
Can’t wait to try the gingerbread recipe! (Am a bog fan of gingerbread.)
What a fun post, Nicola! Am drooling with envy over all those of you who got to experience the festivities first-hand.
Can’t wait to try the gingerbread recipe! (Am a bog fan of gingerbread.)
What a fun post, Nicola! Am drooling with envy over all those of you who got to experience the festivities first-hand.
Can’t wait to try the gingerbread recipe! (Am a bog fan of gingerbread.)
What a fun post, Nicola! Am drooling with envy over all those of you who got to experience the festivities first-hand.
Can’t wait to try the gingerbread recipe! (Am a bog fan of gingerbread.)
Thanks, Cara/Andrea. I hope you enjoy the gingerbread. It’s very rich, dark and spicy!
Thanks, Cara/Andrea. I hope you enjoy the gingerbread. It’s very rich, dark and spicy!
Thanks, Cara/Andrea. I hope you enjoy the gingerbread. It’s very rich, dark and spicy!
Thanks, Cara/Andrea. I hope you enjoy the gingerbread. It’s very rich, dark and spicy!
Thanks, Cara/Andrea. I hope you enjoy the gingerbread. It’s very rich, dark and spicy!
I think, here in Canada, we have had our appetites for old British recipes spoiled.
Last year, a British Bake Shop opened in my small town. I was eagerly anticipating sausage rolls and pasties among other things. I don’t know how old those recipes are, but definitely my mother made them all her life (we came to Canada in 1954 and she was making them before that).
Eagerly making my first purchases, one pasty and one sausage roll, I couldn’t wait to get home and eat them. Oh my. What a disappointment. Thick, fatty pastry. Unpleasant stuffings. I couldn’t eat more than a bite of each. Is anything ever like a mother’s recipe?
I believe it might just be that the bakery’s interpretation is heavy and bland. I know when last I was in England and Wales, I loved the pub servings!!!
I think, here in Canada, we have had our appetites for old British recipes spoiled.
Last year, a British Bake Shop opened in my small town. I was eagerly anticipating sausage rolls and pasties among other things. I don’t know how old those recipes are, but definitely my mother made them all her life (we came to Canada in 1954 and she was making them before that).
Eagerly making my first purchases, one pasty and one sausage roll, I couldn’t wait to get home and eat them. Oh my. What a disappointment. Thick, fatty pastry. Unpleasant stuffings. I couldn’t eat more than a bite of each. Is anything ever like a mother’s recipe?
I believe it might just be that the bakery’s interpretation is heavy and bland. I know when last I was in England and Wales, I loved the pub servings!!!
I think, here in Canada, we have had our appetites for old British recipes spoiled.
Last year, a British Bake Shop opened in my small town. I was eagerly anticipating sausage rolls and pasties among other things. I don’t know how old those recipes are, but definitely my mother made them all her life (we came to Canada in 1954 and she was making them before that).
Eagerly making my first purchases, one pasty and one sausage roll, I couldn’t wait to get home and eat them. Oh my. What a disappointment. Thick, fatty pastry. Unpleasant stuffings. I couldn’t eat more than a bite of each. Is anything ever like a mother’s recipe?
I believe it might just be that the bakery’s interpretation is heavy and bland. I know when last I was in England and Wales, I loved the pub servings!!!
I think, here in Canada, we have had our appetites for old British recipes spoiled.
Last year, a British Bake Shop opened in my small town. I was eagerly anticipating sausage rolls and pasties among other things. I don’t know how old those recipes are, but definitely my mother made them all her life (we came to Canada in 1954 and she was making them before that).
Eagerly making my first purchases, one pasty and one sausage roll, I couldn’t wait to get home and eat them. Oh my. What a disappointment. Thick, fatty pastry. Unpleasant stuffings. I couldn’t eat more than a bite of each. Is anything ever like a mother’s recipe?
I believe it might just be that the bakery’s interpretation is heavy and bland. I know when last I was in England and Wales, I loved the pub servings!!!
I think, here in Canada, we have had our appetites for old British recipes spoiled.
Last year, a British Bake Shop opened in my small town. I was eagerly anticipating sausage rolls and pasties among other things. I don’t know how old those recipes are, but definitely my mother made them all her life (we came to Canada in 1954 and she was making them before that).
Eagerly making my first purchases, one pasty and one sausage roll, I couldn’t wait to get home and eat them. Oh my. What a disappointment. Thick, fatty pastry. Unpleasant stuffings. I couldn’t eat more than a bite of each. Is anything ever like a mother’s recipe?
I believe it might just be that the bakery’s interpretation is heavy and bland. I know when last I was in England and Wales, I loved the pub servings!!!
Love the pub food… My family has cranberry ice for winter holidays.. Kind of a sorbet.. Am going to make that gingerbread.. love it anyway..
Love the pub food… My family has cranberry ice for winter holidays.. Kind of a sorbet.. Am going to make that gingerbread.. love it anyway..
Love the pub food… My family has cranberry ice for winter holidays.. Kind of a sorbet.. Am going to make that gingerbread.. love it anyway..
Love the pub food… My family has cranberry ice for winter holidays.. Kind of a sorbet.. Am going to make that gingerbread.. love it anyway..
Love the pub food… My family has cranberry ice for winter holidays.. Kind of a sorbet.. Am going to make that gingerbread.. love it anyway..
My mother is Chinese, so we have quite a few Chinese holiday traditions. Noodles on your birthday for long life, a whole fish (but you cant eat all of it!) and dumplings at New Years, zong zi for the Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn festival, tang yuan for the Lantern Festival, etc. And there are stories behind why you eat each of them and when, but if I started on that, my comment would start resembling an essay
My mother is Chinese, so we have quite a few Chinese holiday traditions. Noodles on your birthday for long life, a whole fish (but you cant eat all of it!) and dumplings at New Years, zong zi for the Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn festival, tang yuan for the Lantern Festival, etc. And there are stories behind why you eat each of them and when, but if I started on that, my comment would start resembling an essay
My mother is Chinese, so we have quite a few Chinese holiday traditions. Noodles on your birthday for long life, a whole fish (but you cant eat all of it!) and dumplings at New Years, zong zi for the Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn festival, tang yuan for the Lantern Festival, etc. And there are stories behind why you eat each of them and when, but if I started on that, my comment would start resembling an essay
My mother is Chinese, so we have quite a few Chinese holiday traditions. Noodles on your birthday for long life, a whole fish (but you cant eat all of it!) and dumplings at New Years, zong zi for the Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn festival, tang yuan for the Lantern Festival, etc. And there are stories behind why you eat each of them and when, but if I started on that, my comment would start resembling an essay
My mother is Chinese, so we have quite a few Chinese holiday traditions. Noodles on your birthday for long life, a whole fish (but you cant eat all of it!) and dumplings at New Years, zong zi for the Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn festival, tang yuan for the Lantern Festival, etc. And there are stories behind why you eat each of them and when, but if I started on that, my comment would start resembling an essay
I’m sorry you had such a disappointing pasty and sausage roll experience, Anne! We do get lardy sausage rolls here as well but when they are nice they are truly delicious. I’m not sure when they were invented. Some people say as far back as 1500. As for the Cornish pasty, a while ago there was an argument about its origins with a document from the 16th century showing they were on sale in Devon in 1509 at a cost of ten pence!
I’m sorry you had such a disappointing pasty and sausage roll experience, Anne! We do get lardy sausage rolls here as well but when they are nice they are truly delicious. I’m not sure when they were invented. Some people say as far back as 1500. As for the Cornish pasty, a while ago there was an argument about its origins with a document from the 16th century showing they were on sale in Devon in 1509 at a cost of ten pence!
I’m sorry you had such a disappointing pasty and sausage roll experience, Anne! We do get lardy sausage rolls here as well but when they are nice they are truly delicious. I’m not sure when they were invented. Some people say as far back as 1500. As for the Cornish pasty, a while ago there was an argument about its origins with a document from the 16th century showing they were on sale in Devon in 1509 at a cost of ten pence!
I’m sorry you had such a disappointing pasty and sausage roll experience, Anne! We do get lardy sausage rolls here as well but when they are nice they are truly delicious. I’m not sure when they were invented. Some people say as far back as 1500. As for the Cornish pasty, a while ago there was an argument about its origins with a document from the 16th century showing they were on sale in Devon in 1509 at a cost of ten pence!
I’m sorry you had such a disappointing pasty and sausage roll experience, Anne! We do get lardy sausage rolls here as well but when they are nice they are truly delicious. I’m not sure when they were invented. Some people say as far back as 1500. As for the Cornish pasty, a while ago there was an argument about its origins with a document from the 16th century showing they were on sale in Devon in 1509 at a cost of ten pence!
I hope the gingerbread turns out well for you, Cate. I love the sound of the cranberry ice. Love cranberries and it sounds very refreshing.
Wow, Margot, how fascinating about the Chinese holiday traditions. Moon cakes sound good to me. Actually if you wrote that essay on the traditions I would love to read it!
I hope the gingerbread turns out well for you, Cate. I love the sound of the cranberry ice. Love cranberries and it sounds very refreshing.
Wow, Margot, how fascinating about the Chinese holiday traditions. Moon cakes sound good to me. Actually if you wrote that essay on the traditions I would love to read it!
I hope the gingerbread turns out well for you, Cate. I love the sound of the cranberry ice. Love cranberries and it sounds very refreshing.
Wow, Margot, how fascinating about the Chinese holiday traditions. Moon cakes sound good to me. Actually if you wrote that essay on the traditions I would love to read it!
I hope the gingerbread turns out well for you, Cate. I love the sound of the cranberry ice. Love cranberries and it sounds very refreshing.
Wow, Margot, how fascinating about the Chinese holiday traditions. Moon cakes sound good to me. Actually if you wrote that essay on the traditions I would love to read it!
I hope the gingerbread turns out well for you, Cate. I love the sound of the cranberry ice. Love cranberries and it sounds very refreshing.
Wow, Margot, how fascinating about the Chinese holiday traditions. Moon cakes sound good to me. Actually if you wrote that essay on the traditions I would love to read it!
Lovely post, Nicola. I’m very fond of gingerbread, and usually make the traditional style that just gets better with time. I’m also interested in trying out the recipe Jamie Oliver put on line – his version of Grasmere gingerbread. haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/ultimate-gingerbread
Anne H, I make sausage rolls at home – so easy. Sausage (pork) mince from the butcher, and ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket. I often add spices to the mince and occasionally grate in some raw potato, but they’re still yummy plain. Glaze the pastry with a beaten egg and cook in a hot oven and they’re yummy.
Lovely post, Nicola. I’m very fond of gingerbread, and usually make the traditional style that just gets better with time. I’m also interested in trying out the recipe Jamie Oliver put on line – his version of Grasmere gingerbread. haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/ultimate-gingerbread
Anne H, I make sausage rolls at home – so easy. Sausage (pork) mince from the butcher, and ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket. I often add spices to the mince and occasionally grate in some raw potato, but they’re still yummy plain. Glaze the pastry with a beaten egg and cook in a hot oven and they’re yummy.
Lovely post, Nicola. I’m very fond of gingerbread, and usually make the traditional style that just gets better with time. I’m also interested in trying out the recipe Jamie Oliver put on line – his version of Grasmere gingerbread. haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/ultimate-gingerbread
Anne H, I make sausage rolls at home – so easy. Sausage (pork) mince from the butcher, and ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket. I often add spices to the mince and occasionally grate in some raw potato, but they’re still yummy plain. Glaze the pastry with a beaten egg and cook in a hot oven and they’re yummy.
Lovely post, Nicola. I’m very fond of gingerbread, and usually make the traditional style that just gets better with time. I’m also interested in trying out the recipe Jamie Oliver put on line – his version of Grasmere gingerbread. haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/ultimate-gingerbread
Anne H, I make sausage rolls at home – so easy. Sausage (pork) mince from the butcher, and ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket. I often add spices to the mince and occasionally grate in some raw potato, but they’re still yummy plain. Glaze the pastry with a beaten egg and cook in a hot oven and they’re yummy.
Lovely post, Nicola. I’m very fond of gingerbread, and usually make the traditional style that just gets better with time. I’m also interested in trying out the recipe Jamie Oliver put on line – his version of Grasmere gingerbread. haven’t tried it yet.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/ultimate-gingerbread
Anne H, I make sausage rolls at home – so easy. Sausage (pork) mince from the butcher, and ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket. I often add spices to the mince and occasionally grate in some raw potato, but they’re still yummy plain. Glaze the pastry with a beaten egg and cook in a hot oven and they’re yummy.
I do like the sound of the Grasmere gingerbread, Anne. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will definitely try that.
I do like the sound of the Grasmere gingerbread, Anne. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will definitely try that.
I do like the sound of the Grasmere gingerbread, Anne. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will definitely try that.
I do like the sound of the Grasmere gingerbread, Anne. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will definitely try that.
I do like the sound of the Grasmere gingerbread, Anne. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will definitely try that.