Ginger Beer, Pear & Ginger Bread, Madeira Cake & More

Thanks to Chris Barnard and Red Sangre for the photography and art.

Hello

I continue to be inspired by Poldark and British cooking and keep adding cookbooks to my collection.  I fear I will gain back the weight I lost! I do love to bake...and then you have to sample.  So far my plan is to bake and after sampling give the rest to my children or take it to where I work. Free food always is a nice thing : )

I came upon an interesting recipe for a Pear and Ginger Bread.  I made some additions and subtractions and came up with this.  Very full-flavored.  The recipe doubles well but I warn you to put it in a extra large loaf pan or it will go over the sides of the pan like the first time I made it.

Pear and Ginger Bread

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. soda
1/2  c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon peel
1/4 c. crystallized ginger, chopped
1  pear, pealed and diced
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
3 T buttermilk or milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or spray a loaf pan.  Sift the flour, dried ginger,  & soda,  add lemon peel and set aside.  Either by hand or in a mixing bowl, mix butter, brown sugar & honey.  Add egg.  Add flour mixture and mix together thoroughly, add milk or buttermilk.   By hand add crystallized ginger and pear.  Put in the loaf pan and bake approximately 55 minutes.  Cool on rack. Warning, sinks a little in the middle while it cools.  Turn out and when thoroughly cool wrap in cling wrap. Keeps well several days (if it lasts that long).  This is one of those breads that seem to be better the day after you make them.

What kind of tea were Ross and Demelza drinking at Nampara? The only time  I recall a specific tea being mentioned is in Warleggan.  Ross comes home and gives Demelza a pound of "Soachong" tea. "It is better than the stuff we get through Trencrom.  I thought you'd like to try it."

"Souchong" is a smoky black tea from China. Very aromatic and seems appropriate to be sipped beside the hearth at Nampara.

Ginger Beer

While we know that Ross and Demelza made beer at Nampara ie the timely fermentation accident in Warleggan(!), Ginger Beer may have also been a staple as well.  Doubtful it is really "beer" at all as the alcohol content is negligible.

This recipe was found in a magazine that adapted the recipe from "cask" size to two quarts.  The original recipe is from The Virginia House-wife, by Mary Randolph, 1824

1 1/2" fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 quarts spring water

1 c. brown sugar

1 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. dry yeast

Grate the ginger to equal 1 T. of compressed pulp.  Bring water to boil and stir in brown sugar, lemon juice, grated ginger, and cream of tartar.  Allow to cool to lukewarm before adding the yeast.

I left this liquid in my stainless steel stock pot. Covered it with cling wrap and put the lid on tightly and left it on the dining room table for 36 hours or more.   The recipe as I found it decanted it into a two litre container.  I dislike using plastic.

After 36 hours, strain the ingredients (using cheesecloth) into a clean bottle and cap it.  Place it in the refrigerator.  This will stop the fermentation process.  This lasts for quite some time.  You will get a nice little "pop" sound each time you uncork it.  The original recipe said it will turn clear as champagne after 10 days... mine has not yet, but I do not mind.  I did find after a week in the refrigerator the ginger beer had "popped" it's cork!

The bottle was purchased from the Locust Grove gift shop where I work.  It is a handblown replica of bottles of the period.

If you are interested in 18th c. cooking, a company called Jas. Townsend & Sons, has a wonderful DVD series on 18th C. Cookery, they are only $8.00 each.  Lots of recipes and tips on how foods were prepared and why and also rations for soldiers, British and American, during the Revolutionary War.  You can find them at www.jas-townsend.com

UPDATE: (July 4, 2016) Just found another batch that had exploded in the refrigerator! aargh.  I had corked it too tightly it seems.  My husband suggested I use modern wine bottles from now on as well.  So, lesson is this: uncork once in a while if you are not drinking it quickly to let off some steam so to speak.

Madeira Cake

Very popular in the UK and in Cornwall.  I was so surprised there isn't any Madeira IN the cake! You drink Madeira while eating it.... fair enough I say!

I have only made this once, but will definitely make it again.  Found out that there is a difference in sugar.  Many recipes in the UK call for "caster/castor sugar" while in the US we use granulated sugar.

I finally found castor sugar at Fresh Market- it was $5.99 a pound!  It is very fine and looks to be superior for baking, so I am anxious to give it a try.  I just did a little research and an idea I had was confirmed.  You can make your own by placing granulated in a food processor and whizzing it around a few times.  Be careful not to turn it into powdered sugar though!

Recipe for Madeira Cake

1 c. butter, unsalted, room temperature

1 c. sugar, I used granulated, but will use castor sugar next time

4 eggs, room temperature

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 3/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. candied fruit peel, finely chopped* I used orange

2 tsp. flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300.  Grease or spray a 9 x 9 pan.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, then lemon juice and zest.  Mix together flour and baking powder.  Toss fruit peel with 2 tsp flour and fold into the batter.  Bake for 1  hour, or until cake tests done.

I found this cake to be extremely white, so I placed it under the broiler for a few seconds to give it some color.  In the 18th & 19th century a salamander would be used.

* I could not find quality fruit peel (glace) locally, so I ordered from Amazon. The brands were Olive Nation and were approximately $10 a pound.  One was $11.99 a pound but I'm not sure which one.

Okay, onto Madeira.  Named after the Portuguese-owned island where it is made, Madeira is a distinctive fortified wine that subjected to a lengthy heating process during maturation.  It can range in color from pale blond to deep tawny and runs the gamut from quite dry to very sweet. (Food Lover's Companion)

The one I was able to find at the local liquor store was "Rainwater Madeira" by Sandeman, since 1790.  "Rainwater Madeira" was so named in the 18th c. because it is as soft as rainwater and the colour of straw, glistening after a shower of rain." (from the bottle) 

The bottle says the fortified wine was improved by the long hot journey across the Indian Ocean.

This cake improves with age! Since there are only two of us at home and we are trying to watch our weight, it sat covered on the counter for nearly a week and the cake kept getting better!  I made my faux clotted cream and chopped some additional orange peel and it was a lovely dessert (especially on my 1820s porcelain plate!) and as you see a little Madeira was enjoyed with it as well.


I have no fashion news to report this time around, but on one of my Facebook groups we discussed what kind of hat would Ross switch to once the tri-corn became unfashionable (by1800).  I found this painting of the period and thought of Ross Poldark, gentleman farmer. This is dated 1795.  Too bad about the tri-corn, as Aidan Turner wears a tri-corn quite well I think!

"He put the scythe on his shoulder and tramped over to the hayfield…… At noon they stopped and sat in a group  and took long drinks of buttermilk and ate rabbit pasties and barley cakes...." (Ross Poldark)


Thanks for reading and I'll make no promises what comes next!

Bonny Wise, I am
Inspired by Poldark

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Easter Biscuits, Geneva & Pasties!

Thanks to Chris Barnard and Red Sangre for the photography and artwork!

Hello from the other side......oh Adele how I love your new CD!

Sometimes my baking and ideas take a turn, so I am not giving you what I promised last time!  Does it make a difference?

Have you heard of a drink called Geneva? It apparently was gin with a mint flavor.  A book I have says it dates to at least 1773.  How interesting is that?  I like making simple syrups so I chose to make a mint flavored simple syrup which was delicious.  

Simple Syrup recipe:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar (I used white)

2 handfuls of mint (I left it whole, but it could also be chopped)

Place in a sauce pan and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.  Let the mint stay in the whole time to release as much flavor as possible.  Cool and strain and place in a covered container in the refrigerator.  It will keep for about a month.

Basically I made a Geneva Cordial: 1 jigger Gin, 1 jigger mint simple syrup.

For my Jane Austen Society meeting on Sunday, I made Easter Biscuits (a thin cookie) and thought they were very tasty.  Apparently this is a common treat in the West  Country (Cornwall included!)  We serve afternoon at our meetings, so treats, either sweet or savory are always eaten. For more information about the Greater Louisville Jane  Austen Society (www.jasnalouisville.com)  Yours truly was the founder.  We also have a wonderful Jane  Austen Festival which is held in July at a beautiful 1790s farm just six miles from downtown Louisville.  Come and pretend you are in Poldark country.

Easter Biscuits

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. rice flour (can be found in the organic section of the grocery, ie Reds Mill)

1 tsp. allspice

4 oz/1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/4 c. (4 oz) sugar

zest of one lemon

2 egg yolks

1/3 c. currants*

1 T. brandy

For the topping:

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

2 T raw sugar

Makes approximately 20 biscuits

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or spray two sheet pans.  Sift together the flours and spice. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the yolks one at a time. Add the currants (I soaked them in the brandy to soften them) and lemon zest. Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead gently until smooth.  I found this to be a very wet dough and kept adding flour.......  Roll out to a thickness of 1/4 inch and cut into 4" rounds using a fluted cutter.  Place on prepared trays and brush with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays for several minutes before removing them. They improve with age if they last that long.

 In the books pasties are mentioned, often Rabbit Pasty.  Rabbit meat is not easily found where I live, but for a use like this, the meat needs to come from young rabbits so it is tender, not tough.   My grandparents raised rabbits for a few years and my grandmother always cut it up into pieces and gently fried it.  I thought nothing of eating rabbit until I took some to a gathering and people were dismayed I ate rabbit!  I grew up in the country, we also ate squirrel. Grandmother fried it and made a white gravy and biscuits.  We lived next to a woods, it's just what people did then.

Anyway, my recipe for Rabbit Pasty is actually made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, a meat similar to rabbit.

Demelza's Rabbit Pasty

Pasty Dough:

5 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 oz lard

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cubed

1 tsp salt

water with ice cubes in it, approximately 1 cup

1 egg to make a "wash"

Place flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.  Add the lard and butter and work in with a pastry cutter until size of peas.  Make a well in the center and with a fork begin stirring in the ice cold water until it is just mixed.  Gather together and gently knead a few times on a lightly floured surface. 

Divide dough in half or 1/3.  I divided in half and the pasties were HUGE! We could only eat half of them.  Preheat oven to 400.  Do not be put off by the lard!   The lard made the dough so flaky and delicious... my grandmother always used lard in her pie dough and her pies were the best.  A recent article I read said lard is better for you than the "shortening" products because it is a natural product whereas shortening is hydrogenated to make it shelf stable.  Lard just sits in its little box on the shelf and stays somewhat solid.

For the filling:

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped

1/2 turnip, diced

1/2 large parsnip, peeled and sliced

several large mushrooms, sliced

1 carrot, sliced*

1/2 onion, diced

season with salt, pepper & thyme to taste

Place all ingredients in skillet with a couple tablespoons of butter and lightly saute, set aside.

Roll out pasty dough to size, place filling in center and then crimp edges like making a pie.  Whip the whole egg with a fork and brush the top of the pasty with the egg.  Put pasties on baking sheet and bake until brown, about 40-45 minutes.

We thought these were delicious!  My husband said he would have preferred peas to the carrots.  The parsnip flavor was divine, but I love parsnips. I think they are an underrated vegetable.  Right now brussels sprouts seem to be all the rage, perhaps parsnips are next? You heard it here first!

I now have my "Poldark" 1790s dress completed.  I used a Sense & Sensibility Pattern.  The very fine white fabric came from Burnley & Trowbridge in Williamsburg, purveyors of fine fabrics.  I have just about finished  the embroidered garters.  Remember that scene in Warleggan when Ross brings home garters for Demelza?  Cannot wait to see that in Series 2!

"She held the garters in her hand, and he took them from her, so she sat down uncertainly.  She was wearing stockings tonight, old ones, but they were black and her skin above them glistened like ivory.  He put the garters on with a good deal of care. It was months, almost years, since there had been this sort of thing between them, that odd fusion of desire and affection for which there is no substitute.  Her eyes in the gathering darkness glowed at him.  They stayed for a while hardly moving, he kneeling and she leaning back in the chair.  His hands were cool on her legs.  Remember this, she thought. In the times of jealousy and neglect, remember this.  He said: "So you are not to be rid of me, my love."  "I am not to be rid of you, my love."  (be still my heart!)

 

Here's the dress:

A simply embroidered garter made of silk taffeta.  I chose bright colors because I want them to be seen through the fabric. This idea is based on a authentic illustration in Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion book. I will have to see if my husband, aka as My Mr. Darcy wants to put them on me.

Okay, until next time!  I have purchased the ingredients to make Ginger Beer and want to make Madeira Cake, Cornish Black Cake and more.....

I hope you enjoy what I am doing and if you have any suggestions for me, please feel free to leave them and share my blog with friends interested in Poldark!

Bonny Wise, I am
"Inspired by Poldark"

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