Jane Austen food?!
Me and my friend are planning this Jane Austen movieathon and I of course got stuck with snacks and they decided that it would be “just so delightful” if I made snacks that matched her as in Jane Austen’s time. Any suggestions on EASY snacks from the 1800’s?
Answers: Hey everyone.
Me and my friend are planning this Jane Austen movieathon and I of course got stuck with snacks and they decided that it would be “just so delightful” if I made snacks that matched her as in Jane Austen’s time. Any suggestions on EASY snacks from the 1800’s?
Lemon tarts
This recipe from the 1800s was found in a thin notebook of hand-written recipes. The author calls them ‘Lemon cheesecakes’. They are a cross between a custard tart and a lemon curd tart.
Makes 120 small deep tarts – muffin tin size
Large lemons - 12
Caster sugar - 1.1kg
Whole eggs plus - 40
Egg yolks - 20
Butter (melted) - 1.1kg
Puff pasty - 2.2kg
Method
Roll out the pastry and line the tins. The pastry needs to be thin
Put the zest and juice of the lemon into a bain-marie
Stir in the sugar, eggs and melted butter
Put the mixture over boiling water and stir it frequently until it thickens. This should take about 10-15 minutes
Remove the bowl from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature
Spoon the cooled mixture into the pastry cases and bake for 20-25 minutes at 220oC
Let them cool and finish by dusting with icing sugar.
Victoria Sandwich Cake
6 oz butter
6 oz. caster (fine) sugar
3 eggs beaten
6 oz. self-raising flour
2 tbsp. jam
Caster (fine) sugar to dredge
Butter two 7-inch sandwich tins and line the base of each with a round of buttered greaseproof paper.
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in half the flour, using a metal spoon, then fold in the rest
Place half the mixture in each tin and level with a knife. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, until they are well risen, firm to the touch, and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tins. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Sultana Tea-cakes (Mrs Emslie, 1897)
Baked in ribbed quenelle moulds.
? lb. butter, ? lb. sugar ? lb. flour, 2 oz sultanas, 2 eggs, a little candied peel, and baking powder [she does not specify the amount].
Mix the same as for a cake; bake in small ribbed quenelle moulds. When they are done, cover them with icing of sugar and water, and put them on a wire sieve to dry.
Watford Cakes.
1 lb. flour, 3 oz. white sugar, 3 oz. butter, 1 oz. German yeast, ? lb. sultanas, a little mixed candied peel and spices, 2 eggs.
Mix with warm milk; will take about 2 hours to rise. Bake.
