Victoria Sponge Cake and Spiced Victoria Sponge Cake

No birthday party is complete without a cake. I gamely volunteered to make one and by volunteered, I mean insisted. It seemed only right and proper that I should choose one from the Sandwich Cakes chapter of Good Housekeeping’s Picture Cake Making (Waverley, 1955) but as I realised I hadn’t baked a sponge cake for atleast a year, something simple would be advisable.

As we had a range of guests attending. I decided to make a two sorts of cake based around the same recipe – a classic Victoria sponge and a spiced Victoria sponge.

Notes

• Good lord, the icing took a lot of heating before it thickened – I would estimate an hour, no joke. When it had thickened however, it was very easy to spread. I used mostly basic dark chocolate and a little bit of Green & Blacks Maya Gold. (Thanks for the birthday present of the sugar letters. You know who you are.)
• Small disaster – my spring-sided cake tin leaked slightly so the bottom layer was slightly thinner than I intended (and I had to remove a  crispy layer of cake from the bottom of my oven. Thank God my oven is self-cleaning, it just peeled away.)

Results

For reasons I can’t quite fathom, the spice cake was lighter than the vanilla layer, although both were complimented for their moistness. Following the recipe exactly meant not doing any of the tricks I would normally use to make the sponge as  light as possible  (such as swapping a dessert spoon of the sugar for golden syrup or a heaped teaspoon of  the wheat flour for corn flour). It wasn’t a bad effort though and certainly, a fair amount was eaten on the spot despite how well we had all laid into the other dishes. The icing had an amazing  texture and flavour – definitely worth the time.

Caked by Elly

Potato and Cheese Soup

Is it cold outside? Are you feeling cross from the cumulative effect of at least seven small things and it’s making your brain itch? Do you have a few edible bits in your kitchen but are too hungry to bake them all for an hour and a half as per most winter comfort dishes? Your problems are my problems, friend.

This recipe is from the Good Housekeeping Cookery Compendium, volume 1 (Waverly, 1955). I felt I should attempt a savoury dish from this book as so far I have only used it to make biscuits.

Notes

• I made half the quantity state here, which started with 2 potatoes – 1 v large, 1 medium sized. I can’t remember what kind of potato I used, a kind with a thin red skin. Obviously, if you only have watery, flavourless potatoes at home, adjust seasoning accordingly.
• A quart is 2 pints.
• I used half a chicken stock cube, a shake of Worcestershire sauce, a bay leaf and lots of black pepper for the ’stock’. Don’t, please, use water – that would lead to unspeakable blandness.
• I have no idea if your supposed to leave the skin on the potatoes, I did because a) couldn’t be bothered to peel them b) I really like the flavour of potato skin and leave them on for lots of dishes.

Results

While this could be fancied up with whatever else you have around (paprika, bacon,  rosemary or a little caramelised onion all spring to mind) if you really love mashed potato, you’ll enjoy it just as it is. (I had it with a nice scone.)

Souped by Elly

Coffee Marshmallow Spread

I cannot explain what kind of curiosity overtook me  when I decided to try this method from the Creams and Fillings section of the Good Housekeeping Cooking Compendium, volume 3: Picture Cake Making (Waverly, 1955).

Notes

• The recipe doesn’t state how long it will take to achieve the desired consistency and while all eggs are different, it would have been nice to have an indication that atleast 25 minutes of whisking is necessary. The mixture went from  runny and foamy to glossy and shiny, only after a concerted effort.
• I had a couple of sponge fingers leftover from this and decided to ice them.
• The amount stated in the recipe makes just over a pint. No, really.

Results

Absolutely insanely sweet. Too sweet even for me – I quite enjoyed the biscuits I iced but,  I’m ashamed to say,  ditched the rest as tooth-aching.  This icing/frosting/filling does not harden and while the texture is delightful, I think it would be better flavoured with something like lemon zest, or perhaps used as the basis for a pudding, a sortof coward’s soufflé.

Marshmallowed by Elly

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Date Drop Cookies

If you’ve never had a drop biscuit, imagine a rock cake, without the rockiness. As these went so well, I decided to try another variation, this time from The Complete Book of Desserts by Anne Seranne (publishers name, 1955) which has recipe for several kinds, including chocolate, almond and molasses (which is definitely on my list). This section of the ‘Small cakes and cookies’ chapter is called ‘Some Old Cooky Jar Favorites’.

Date Drop Cookies

1/2 cup butter [i.e. 4oz]
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups enriched flour
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dates
1/4 cup milk

Blend butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt and stir in the sliced dates. Add flour-date mixture alternately with milk to butter mixture.

Drop batter from teaspoon onto baking tray rubbed with shortening and bake at 350 degrees, for 12 – 15 minutes. makes 2 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Notes

• I decided to make the full amount – 24, yikes! The ingredients however made more than 24. Try 30, more like 32, if I hadn’t eaten some of the dough.
• I used slightly less salt as I was using rather salty salted butter.
• It didn’t specify what kind of sugar, so I chose crunchy demarara, as opposed to a soft, dark sugar. I also made a mistake when measuring, adding a 1/2 cup and then a 1/3 cup of sugar, rather than a 1/4.

Results

As you can see, they are a variety of shapes – the ones at the top and back of the oven flattened instantly as the butter melted in the heat, while those in the cooler parts maintained a domed shape whilst cooking more slowly. I decided to brown some more than other to compare flavours and I prefer the slightly crunchier, darker ones. They were rather sweet and in need of a bit of nutmeg or cinnamon but the full flavour and  moisture of the dates seemed a better option than chocolate chips.

My regular taster (not a fan of incredibly sweet things) pronounced them decent and managed to put away 3.

Update (12.10.09) These are still delicious after two weeks in a not-completely air-tight tin. They’re slightly softer and the flavour has improved.

Dated and dropped by Elly

Langue de chat (cat’s tongue biscuits)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person presented with a bowlful of ridiculous chocolate pudding must be in want of a tiny,  crispy biscuit. And so it was on the 23rd of September, when I cobbled together a chocolate and rum Bavarian cream (I had planned to flavour it with praline but I felt that the custard base alone was incredibly sweet. This was also from Anne Seranne, but won’t be blogged due to rampant deviation from the recipe.)

Notes

• As (at the time of baking) I only had a small-nozzled piping bag, I piped 1 inch long biscuits, that were approximately half the diameter of a pencil. This resulted in biscuits of 1 1/2 inches long and about half an inch wide.

• They needed more than 4 minutes, more like 8, maybe my oven was too cold. (As you can see, some ended up rather better cooked than others.)

Results

Although far from uniform in appearance, I was happy with these, especially the texture.

Gentle reader, be warned. These must be piped and the egg white must be added a little at a time.

Buoyed up by my success on Wednesday, (I say ‘success’,  I served them up to the refined palates of A, A and my sister and they finished them), I decided to have a second go on Saturday, planning to make circular ones and drizzle some chocolate on top. Disaster. This time, the whites of 2 medium eggs was far too much. The biscuits (not piped) were too full of air (and egg – the biscuits should hold their shape once piped) and they bubbled and stuck and were generally stupid. I had to attend an afternoon social function empty-handed – oh, the shame. (Although our charming hostess had rustled up two kinds of cupcakes –    so no one went unsweetened.)

Catted by Elly

Squash Pie

I roasted half squash a couple of days ago, having used the other half in a stew and, as these were so good, decided to attempt another, similar recipe from the same book, Potluck Cookery by Beverley Pepper (Faber and Faber, 1955).

Notes

• I made exactly the amount stated, again!
• Mashing milk-sodden toast into cold roast squash is not as easy as it sounds.
• After 25 minutes, there was still a lot of uncooked cream swilling around the top of the pie so I gave it another 20 minutes in the oven.

Results

Not a success, ladies and gents. Firstly, it is desperately in need of another flavour – cheese, bacon, tomato, peppers, herbs, anything. Secondly the onion, despite being chopped very finely,  was still rather hard after 45 minutes. The texture is pleasantly light and a good match to the courgettes in tomato sauce I ate with it, but it still seemed only half thought-through as dish. I’m not convinced of the point of the cream either – saving some of the bread as crumbs and topping it with them would be far more interesting.  I might try this again, slowly cooking the onions in the butter first (actually, I’d probably use olive oil)  and adding some other form of seasoning. As it is, I heartily recommend you do not try it.

Pie’d by Elly

Vintage Cocktails

Here’s a run-down of  the cocktails we drank at the cocktail and canape party.

From Vogue Cocktails by Henry McNulty (Octopus Books, 1983). This is a very eighties book, with great illustrations, (some of which I’ve scanned in).

The Godmother

1.5 ounces vodka

3/4 ounce amaretto

Serve in an Old Fashioned glass, stirred with ice.

This was niiiice. We used martini glasses instead of the proper glasses though (because martini glasses are the most practical type of glassware when drunk).

Green Treetop

2 ounces vodka

2 ounces lemon juice

Sugar to taste

Dash of crème de menthe

Mint leaves, chopped

Pour the vodka, lemon juice and sugar over ice. Serve with the mint and a drop of crème de menthe in a tall glass.

This one was odd. It left a strong impression of Listerine. And not in a good way. I had two, though I fail to see how I could have justified that to myself, even when drunk. I believe this photo of Sarah’s features the dregs of a Green Treetop.

Leave It To Me

2 ounces gin

1 ounce maraschino

1 ounce lemon juice (or lemon squash)

1 dash grenadine

1 egg white

Shake all the ingredients hard for a frothy delight and serve in a large cocktail or wine glass.

I didn’t have one of these, but Elly has a photo -

A ‘Leave It To Me’

Frothy delight? You tell me.

From The Official Mixer’s Manual by Patrick Gavin Duffy (Garden City Books, 1954). This book contains a wealth of cocktails with intriguing names like Elk’s Own cocktail, Flu cocktail, Horse’s Neck cocktail, Mr Eric Sutton’s Gin Blind cocktail, Rah Rah Rut cocktail, Some Moth cocktail, and Special Rough cocktail.

Applejack No. 2

3/4 calvados

1/4 sweet vermouth

1 dash angostura bitters

Stir well with ice and strain into glass

As far as I remember this one was rather nice. I think I had two. There was certainly no calvados left the next morning.

Damn The Weather

1/2 dry gin

1/4 sweet vermouth

1/4 orange juice

3 dashes curaçao

Shake well with ice and strain into glass.

This one comes out a murky green colour, but is drinkable. I had at least two of these. Or did I? God knows.

Church Parade

2/3 English gin

1/3 dry vermouth

1 dash curaçao

4 dashes orange juice

Stir well with ice and strain into a glass. Serve with a cherry.

Another murky green one, if memory serves me correctly (unlikely). Not sure what kind of church parades Patrick Gavin Duffy was going to in the fifties. Communion curaçao anyone?

A ‘Church Parade’

Sherry and Egg

Carefully break one egg into a cocktail glass, leaving the yolk intact. Fill the glass with sherry.

This ‘drink’ was attempted when the party was well and truly underway. As you may be able to infer from the above list of cocktails tried (and the increasingly incoherent tweets I appear to have sent) I was in a state of advanced refreshment when I ‘went rogue’ and assembled this monstrosity.  I admit I never expected to enjoy it, and this was a true experiment to see if I was able to actually even drink it, when everything about it made me want to run a mile in the opposite direction, vomitting all the while. After making it we spent some time poking the intact yolk that was suspended so enticingly in the sherry -

- until I plucked up the courage to, well, retire to the bathroom with the cocktail, and Sarah and her camera. At this point I had a huge attack of the misgivings and spent a fair 5 minutes saying ‘no no I can’t I physically can’t I can’t drink this no’.  This looked like this:

It really did seem impossible to even raise the glass to my mouth. But, dear reader, in the name of Science and this blog I did. I knocked the contents of the glass back into my mouth and I swear that vile stuff, that tainted sherry, that crucially intact yolk were in my mouth for all of half a second before I’d ejected them from my being, into the bathtub, creating a horrendous splatter of yolk/ sherry all up the side of it.  Then there was some retching (happily there are no photos of this part). Actually, casting my mind back, this was the point at which I opted to make myself another Green Treetop. I wanted that minty freshness!

Beef Cornets

These were made for the canape party, and boy did they go down like a, well, lead balloon. The recipe is from Good Housekeeping’s  Cookery Book (1955), and the recipe is brief and offers no clues as to quantities of ingredients. Thanks for that.

I could only afford those cheap squares of beef that you get in packets, so had to improvise a little – I origamied the beef squares into a sort of triangle and rolled them neatly (yeah right) into a cone, before securing them with a cocktail stick.  The delicious filling was approximately 50% whipped cream and 50% horseradish. I used horseradish sauce, being unable to find actual horseradish.

The Cornets

Photo courtesy of Marianna

Tasting notes

Although I ate two of these I enjoyed neither, and most of them were still uneaten come the day after the party (and were binned). There was something entirely disconcerting about the whipped cream/ beef combo, and I had, perhaps overdone the horseradish a little. It did say to flavour it strongly, and I wanted to mask the taste of the cream…

Ginger Shortbread

This recipe is from volume 3 of the Good Housekeeping Cooking Compendium (Waverly, 1955), Picture Cake Making from the Small Fancy Cakes section, which also, completely unpredictably, includes macaroons, several variations of  profiteroles and these.

Ginger Shortbread

6oz flour
2 oz castor sugar
½ – 1tsp ground ginger
4oz butter
1oz chopped crystallised ginger

Put dry ingredients into a bowl and rub in fat until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add chopped ginger, knead mixture until smooth and then pack into a sandwich tin. Crimp edges, mark top into triangles and prick with a fork. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) until golden and firm  – about 1 hour. Do not remove from tin till cool.

Notes

• This recipe uses a very large amount of butter, which started melting as the dough was coming together and made it seem almost pastry-like.
• 1oz didn’t seem to be very much ginger – I chopped it into pieces the size of long rice grains
• After baking, the triangles I had marked had almost vanished, so while it was still warm, I re-scored them with a knife.

Results

Although the worst sin of shortbread is that it is  dry and hard, I can’t help think there might be a little too much butter in this recipe. The shortbread are very creamy-tasting which doesn’t quite blend with the citrus notes in the ginger. Really, however, I’m quibbling. This had an amazing texture and perhaps if I had added a little less ground ginger (I went for the maximum teaspoon), the flavour might have been more mellow. I would make again but add some warmer notes to the flavour – like vanilla extract or dark chocolate chips.

Shorted by Elly

Pavé au Chocolat

In which I raid Anne Seranne again and make what it basically a tiramisu but with chocolate instead of cream and filter coffee and cognac, instead of espresso and marsala. This is from chapter 4, ‘Cornstarch, rice, farina, and other creamy desserts’ from The Complete Book of Desserts (1952, Faber and Faber for the Cookery Book Club).

Pavé au Chocolat (Blender method)

6oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
¼ cup boiling water or strong coffee
4 egg yolks
½ cup soft butter [this is translated at the front of the book as 4oz]
4 tablespoons cognac
½ cup cold water
5oz lady-fingers
Whipped cream

Into container of an electric blender put chocolate pieces and boiling liquid.

Cover and blend on a high speed for about 10 seconds, or until sauce is smooth.

Remove cover and add egg yolk and butter and continue to blend until smooth, stopping it stir down if necessary.

Empty chocolate cream into a bowl.

Add half the cognac to the container, cover, and blend for a few seconds.

Add to the chocolate cream and mix.

Combine remaining cognac and cold water.

Line bottom of a spring-form pan with waxed paper. Dip lady-fingers, one at a time, into the diluted cognac ands arrange a layer of lady-fingers in pan. Spread with a layer of chocolate cream, using about half the cream. Arrange another layer of lady-fingers and top with the remaining chocolate cream. Cover with lady-fingers and chill for atleast 2 hours.

To serve: run knife around sides of pan and invert dessert. Discard waxed paper and decorate with rosettes of whipped cream. Serves 8.

Notes

• This was very simple and would certainly be do-able for those without a blender, simply by melting the broken chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and placing it on a firm surface and indulging in some vigorous stirring.
• I used a silicon loaf tin, lined as suggested, as my spring-form tin didn’t seem to be a suitable size.
• No rosette piping for me – I just served the whipped cream in a bowl

Results

Results

This was incredibly rich but the flavour wasn’t quite right, somehow. I used filter coffee and admittedly not particularly great booze but when I make this again, I might leave the coffee out and use amaretto or rum instead. I also wondered if there is a better biscuit than sponge fingers, they lighten the pudding but seem to be too much of a contrast – maybe amaretti would be better, maybe these?

It looked OK, far from elegant, perhaps making it in a round container would improve the appearance. I cut the remainder into slices and froze them and can confirm that this has done it no harm at all.