Along with my mother there were two other persons who contributed greatly towards my education within the subject at this time; the first of these being my Grandmother, who incidentally gave me my first glimpses of Victorian style cooking by following tried and tested recipes from her ancient copy of  ‘Mrs. Beeton’. This lovely old lady was renowned throughout her wide ring of family and friends for her open house hospitality to all visitors be they invited or uninvited, which was ideally complemented by her amazing ability to create the most delicious culinary extravaganza’s at the drop of a hat. Believe it or not, this welcome even extended to the first meal of the day, which would be on the table at eight fortyfive sharp; hers being perhaps one of the last households in this country where it was customary to be offered a menu of grilled kippers or ham and eggs, followed by fresh dripping toast and seedless dates!

The third person whom I owe credit to, though not directly related, became a great friend of the family in her later years, namely Mrs. Jayne Tysley from Hartland, Devon. Although this dear lady passed away over twenty years ago, I will never forget the classic Edwardian style teas she used to serve up on the back lawn of her idyllic little cottage on hot Summer afternoons. To Aunt Jayne the presentation of those delicacies was of paramount importance, so amongst other things I was able to glean a great deal about culinary etiquette, along with a number of miscellaneous Edwardian gems such as: ‘to avoid possible confusion in gentle company one must ensure that different sandwich fillings should never be seen to reside together on the same platter’.

In those early years I used to dabble with cooking but my aspirations were never fully aroused until my final years at finishing school when I was encouraged by Madame to include it as one of my examination subjects. It still surprises me to recall that even though I was already adept at manufacturing a respectable cross-section of popular dishes, I had taken in precious little of the background theory behind the principles I had been regularly applying up to then. Interestingly enough, the theoretical examination syllabus that year included a potted history of ‘cordon bleu’ development in France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, together with an overview of currently used techniques. I draw this to your attention because although cordon bleu cookery can be quite involved and fiddly with both it’s preparation and presentation, a number of the more sophisticated Victorian recipes I have collected over the years bear remarkable similarities of style.

Traditional Victorian recipes or ‘receipts' as they were more commonly known, have remained a fascinating area of study for me as my accumulation of them has grown over the past fifteen years to a figure of over one thousand examples by mid nineteen ninetyfour. Although most of these have originated from collections in the South of England. I have also managed to acquire a number from Scotland. Wales, the Channel Islands and of course France. But why study outdated cooking methods from this era I’m often asked. First and foremost there is the challenge involved. Many of the ingredients and methods used in those times have fallen into disuse, hence making the correct end result far from easy to achieve. Secondly, I enjoy rekindling and savouring the long forgotten flavours of dishes which must have been commonplace during the 19th. Century.

Victorian taste was quite different to that we are used to today, with many of the more sophisticated dishes being almost extravagant with their use of ingredients. But I can assure you that making an attempt to reproduce one of these specialities is most definitely worth the effort, and will undoubtably result in a piece de resistance quite unique and delicious in flavour, bearing little or no resemblance to anything found in the recipe  books of today. This arguably excessive use of sometimes expensive ingredients is fortunately only found in a small proportion of recipes from this period, as the majority which still exist were written to accommodate the limited budgets of lower-middling and poorer classes. It is interesting to note that a large number of these frugal recipes originated from the houses of the wealthy where ladies with timea plenty, would consider their production nothing less than a charitable act. Although many of these would be of little use to a household of today, there are a number of  ‘economy dishes’ which are surprisingly good and for that reason readily warrant inclusion within these pages.

Many fine old collections containing recipes such as these are passed down and treasured by successive generations. but there is understandably a reluctance to sample the delights of the older entries as the end result can often lead to disappointment. This is generally not the fault of the recipe itself as one can logically assume that nobody would take the time and trouble to record a dish that they didn’t  find agreeable. The problem usually stems from a lack of understanding where quantities, techniques or even the ingredients themselves are concerned.

The object of the exercise in producing this book has therefore been to bring the sampling of this mouthwatering assortment of Victorian culinary delights within easy reach of anybody who has the desire to try them. Cakes, biscuits, pastries, tarts, puddings, creams and jellies are all packed within these pages and to allow for the maximum chance of success, every recipe has been successfully tried and tested on my family on at least one occasion.As none of the three ladies who have contributed towards my success are with us  today. I dedicate this collection of recipes to their memory and hope that my efforts would have met with their approval.

Jeanne Marie Williams French.

1994

Two further examples of recipes, one from the ‘Cakes’ Chapter, and another from ‘Puddings’.

Tea Cake Rounds

Whilst yeast has been recorded as having been used as a leavening agent for countless years, it is surprising just how many modern cooks have never even tried their hand at this ancient art. In order to introduce the subject to anyone who is prepared to have a try, here is a recipe that once graced the tables of the Victorian household. The ‘tea cake round’ would have either been cooked a short time before and served up with lashings of butter, or alternatively (if made the day before) toasted, buttered and sent to the table on a piping hot plate!

The recipe shown below make a sufficient quantity of ‘dough’ to make two good sized rounds, each capable of serving four persons. Although it might be theoretically possible to use the first and store the second in a tin for use on the following day, this has never been possible in our household.

Method

Sieve the flour and the salt into a respectable sized mixing bowl and rub in the butter. This is perhaps best accomplished by ‘cutting’ the butter into smaller and smaller pieces with a sharp table knife before setting to the task with the tips of the fingers.

Once this has been done and there are no obvious pieces of flour coated butter remaining, add the currants, the yeast and the well-beaten egg. With these ingredients thoroughly combined, make a well in the middle of the mixture and begin to pour in the warmed milk. Taking up the knife once again, work this in by degrees from the centre outwards until a smooth paste is created which will eventually form as a heavy lump around the blade of the knife. At this point the knife can be discarded and the dough kneeded with the fingers within the mixing bowl until it is perfectly smooth. Cover the bowl with a large plate and allow to prove in a warm location such as an airing cupboard &c.

After about an hour the dough should have risen to approximately double it’s original size. Kneed well for a second time and return the covered bowl for another 30 minutes.

Now divide into two and place the ‘lumps’ on a greased baking sheet, flattening each one out to about a half an inch thickness. Bake the rounds in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes, after which they should be brushed generously with egg white and sprinkled with sugar. Continue the baking for a further period of 15 minutes, at which time they should be withdrawn and set aside to cool on a tray.

Method

Par, core and mince the apple. Finely grate the bread and place these two items in a bowl along with the sugar and the currants. Whisk the eggs and beat into the mixture along with the lemon essence.

When all is thoroughtly combined, spoon into a buttered basin, sprinkle the nutmeg onto the top, cover with a cloth and boil for about three hours.

Hints

As an alternative to a lemon essence, in the past I have used 2 teaspoons of ordinary lemon juice with acceptable results.

This is one of those recipes where a modern food processing machine can be an invaluable tool for the grating of the bread, the mincing of the apples and even the whisking of the eggs if time is tight. In fact, with a little forethought, it is possible to make the entire pudding in the confines of the machine’s mixing bowl. (Peeling and coring the apples excluded of course!)

For those with an adventurous outlook on life there is always the option to try and reduce time by cooking the pudding in the microwave, not that this is necessarily something that I would undertake myself out of choice with time in hand. If however there is a desire to experiment with this possibility, the pudding should first of all be brought up to boiling point on one of the higher power levels, before being reduced to a ‘defrost’ setting for the remainder of the cooking period. A tablespoon of water over the top should help to keep it moist. About one hour’s cooking time should suffice.