Summertime Treats in Edwardian England

[ubiquitous-a.livejournal.com]

These are a couple of recipes I got that are from the Edwardian era (c. 1905).  No scans, unfortunately, but I got them from a BBC website on a shows about Edwardian culture:

Edwardian Champagne Cup

Serves 10

• 2 oranges, sliced
• ¹/₂ cucumber, sliced
• 2 sprigs of mint
• 1 wine glass of brandy
• 1 wine glass of orange Curacao
• 1 bottle of Champagne (chilled)
• 750ml soda water (chilled)

Put the Champagne, sliced oranges, mint, cucumber, into a jug or bowl. Add the orange Curacao, brandy and soda water. Stir until blended. Serve in tumblers over ice.

Iced Biscuits

Lemon biscuits:

• 4 oz Butter
• 3 oz Caster sugar
• 6oz Plain flour
• 1 x Zest lemon

Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Stir in the lemon rind and plain flour and mix into a soft dough. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 20 mins. Roll the dough out to 3mm and cut out required shapes. Lay the shapes onto a baking tray. Make holes at the top of the biscuits if you would like to hang them with decorative ribbons later. Bake for 12 mins at 175 c / 350 f place on wire racks to cool.

Gingerbread biscuits:

• 4 oz Butter
• 4 oz Brown Sugar
• 3 oz Treacle
• 1 x Egg
• 10oz Flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 2 tsp Ground ginger
• 1 1tsp Ground cinnamon

Cream the butter and sugar together. Stir in the treacle. Beat in the egg. Stir in the plain flour, baking powder and spice and form a stiff dough. Chill for one hour before rolling out and cutting out the shapes .Bake at 175 c / 350 f for 10 minutes . Place on racks to cool.

Royal Icing:

• 1 lb icing sugar
• 2 large egg whites

Place egg whites into a grease free bowl. Whisk the whites until stiff. Add the icing sugar and beat until stiff until it forms soft peaks. The icing should be of a consistency to gently fall off the back of a spoon. To store the icing and prevent it drying place a soft cloth over the bowl. Colour with food colouring as required.

 

Top Tips for decorating the biscuits:

• Split the icing into smaller bowls and use small quantities of food colouring to tint the royal icing to your required decorative colours.
• Fill your piping bag no more than half full or else it will overflow when you attempt to pipe with it.
• Whilst piping hold the bag a couple of inches above the biscuit and continue to gently squeeze until just before you reach the end of your decoration.
• Set aside to dry for a couple of hours before adding detailing.
• Whilst waiting you can practice your piping skills and decorative details designs onto a piece of paper.
• The decorative detailing can be piped as well as painted onto the plain iced biscuit.
• Silver and gold sugar balls can be added to the decoration for a bejewelled effect.

Comments

[racerxgirl.livejournal.com]

Our Super Target, Whole Foods and Kroger (which surprised me) carry Heinz brand treacle if you're looking for the real deal...otherwise, dark blackstrap molasses would be a pretty good substitute.