Desserts - Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: Desserts

11
May
2020

Quince Blancmange

I’m fairly sure that Quince Blancmange was invented when someone put the names of the most old fashioned fruit and the most vintage of desserts through a random generator to see what came up. It could have been worse. We could have been eating Medlar Junkets. or Whortleberry Possets. BTW…just in case you are writing an academic history of quince blancmange don’t quote me on that origin story! For everyone else? That’s how it happened. Other people will tell you that blancmange originated in the Middle Ages and used to contain chicken and other meaty treats. That it moved from savoury to sweet in around 1600 and that the name is a portmanteau of the French words for white (blanc) and to eat (manger). And I’m not saying that they are wrong. “Quince” blancmange however? Random name generator. For sure. 100%.

Quince are one of the weirdest fruit around! If you are not familiar with them, they are those bright yellow fruit that look like large misshapen pears that you might see in your greengrocer in autumn. When you cut them open the flesh is white and so, so sour and a little bit bitter. But when you cook them that flesh becomes a glorious deep pink to dark red and sweet.

And blancmange? Is pretty much jelly / jello with cream or milk mixed through it. Who knew!

So, I bought a quince because I didn’t really read the recipe first and made the assumption that quince blancmange would contain quince. I mean stands to reason right?

Hmmm….wrong. The quince blancmange recipe uses the quince jelly you buy to eat with cheese. Now, for some reason we had a shit ton of this in our fridge. Well, one of them was Fig paste but for the purpose of the blancmange, it was all the same. I have no idea why we had so much of this. I suspect they came in hampers or were freebies with something because the only other time I have ever cooked quince was to make my own membrillo which is the proper name of Spanish Quince paste and we have been eating that. Delicious too I might add! If you do make it, a little splash of vanilla essence in the quince mix does not go astray. Trust me on that one.

Quince blancmange is so easy to make.

First, tip your paste into a sauce pan, add water and melt that jelly down. Taste. Add sugar if needed, or if already very sweet a dash of lemon juice. Add a splash of vanilla too. Then, turn off the heat, allow to cool slightly and stir through the cream. This looked so pretty as it made a beautiful marbled pattern. It was very soothing moving the spoon through the swirls of colour…

Then add some gelatine pour into the mould and you are done!

Quince Blancmange

Print Recipe

A fruity dessert that tastes better than it looks!

Yield: 6 1x
Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale

200 grams Quince Jelly
100 grams water (Plus moe for gelatime)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
4 Gelatine leaves
Sugar, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste
250 ml Cream
Berries to serve (Optionaal)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Add the quince jelly to the water in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until the jelly melts.
Add the vanilla.
Taste and add sugar and / or lemon juice to taste.
Remove from heat. Stir through the cream.
Soften the gelatine leaves in a little cool water, then removeand squeeze out the excess water. Stir the gelatine into the warm cream andquince mixture.
Pour into a mould and chill until set.
To serve, invert the mould and garnish with the berries.

If I did not now know this was quince flavoured I would not have guessed that was it was. And I don’t think that was because of the figs because it did not taste overly figgy either. It tasted generically fruity sweet. The Quince Blancmange was much nicer to eat than it was to look at. Because it looked revolting. Really bad. It reminded me of being back in school and seeing a picture of some lungs with all the arteries and veins running through it.

Spot the Difference

So, not fail but not a total win. I probably will not make this exact recipe again but I am definitely going to experiment with blancmange a bit more to try to bring out the actual flavour of the fruit. I wonder if it would have been different if I had used fresh quince instead of the jelly?

Have a great week friends and stay safe!

21
Apr
2020

Peach Melba – Dining with The Dame 2

categories: Desserts, Dining With The Dame, Peaches

Welcome to the second chapter of Dining with the Dame which is all about cooking the food found in the novels of Agatha Christie. Today we are delving into Agatha’s second novel The Secret Adversary which features the classic Peach Melba. I was planning to make Peach Melba for a “Name Plates” post down the track but The Secret Adversary pipped it at the post!

The Secret Adversary

The Secret Adversary is Dame Christie’s second published novel (1922). It introduces “The Young Adventurers” Tommy and Tuppence to the reading world. I have a real soft spot for Tommy and Tuppence. They are both a little displaced, not to mention broke after the WW1 where they worked as soldier and nurse respectively. Seeking excitement and cold hard cash they place an advertisement in the paper offering their services “No unreasonable offer refused”.

This leads to a tale of hijinks involving fake names, American millionaires, missing cousins and state secrets, and of course a criminal mastermind evil genius! It all ends happily and with the sound of wedding bells in the distance for Tommy and Tuppence!

If you do not fancy reading the book there is a made for tv adaptation from 1983 which, at the time of writing is available on Daily Motion.

There is also a more modern version set in the 1950’s starring David Walliams as Tommy and Jessica Raine as Tuppence. I have only been able to see the trailers for this on You Tube as I could not find it to buy / rent anywhere. It looks good but I think moving it to the 1950’s will change some of the dynamic of the book. One of the most moving images in the book was that returned soldiers unable to find work after the war would go from door to door selling poems!

The Covers

I find it odd that not many of the old style covers feature Tommy and Tuppence. My favourite here is the pulp fictionesque cover on the top right. I also like the red, black and white one bottom left and the middle bottom one that references the sinking of the Lusitania.

My least favourites are middle left where the secret adversary seems to be an overgrown fly. Who let Jeff Goldblum in? I also think that the mask in the bottom right one looks a little bit like Vincent Price.

The Recipe

“On second thoughts I prefer The Picadilly. It’s nearer”

…

“Is this a new brand of humour? Or is your brain really unhinged?” inquired Tommy.

“Your last supposition is the correct one. I have come into money and the shock has been too much for me. For that particular form of mental trouble an eminent physician recommends unlimited hors-d’œuvre, Lobster a l’américane, Chicken Newberg, and Pêche Melba”

Peach Melba combines peaches, fresh raspberries and raspberry coulis with vanilla icecream. So simple! So delicious!

Peach season was pretty much over when I made this so I used tinned peaches. Fresh poached peaches would be amazing!!!! I also added in some almonds for a bit of crunch but essentially I used Nigella Lawson’s Peach Melba recipe.

Other Food Mentioned in The Secret Adversary

Have you read The Secret Adversary? What did you think of it? Which is your favourite cover? I am really enjoying these old style mystery stories whilst in iso. Book 3 is back to Poirot for a murder mystery set in France. Ooh la la!

Have a great week. Stay home, stay safe!

11
Apr
2020

Sighs of a Nun

categories: Desserts, Pastry Desserts, Spain

Hello, people of the internet! I hope you are all keeping safe and staying indoors! And whilst you’re indoors, why not make these little Spanish treats called Suspiros de Monja aka Sighs of a Nun.

I love food with kooky names so as soon as I saw these I knew they would someday make their way to here. I know they are not chocolate but consider them my Easter treat to you!

When I heard the name, Sighs of a Nun, I assumed it would refer to sighs of ecstasy over how delicious these are. Not so. They are delicious but the sighs are definitely not what I thought they would be!

The literal translation is Nun’s Farts as the sound of a dollop of uncooked pastry hitting the hot oil makes a sound identical to a nun letting off!!!!

I have noticed that my Sighs of a Nun are flatter than the ones I can see on the internet. I think that is because I pan-fried mine instead of deep-frying them. Either way, they were delicious! I was dubious about how much use the lemon would be in this but there was a distinct lemon flavour which I liked against the creamy interior and the crispy outside.

One of the best things about them, in these COVID times, is that you only pantry staples to make them. And, eaten while still warm? They are comfort food on crack!!! Like warm, creamy, lemony doughnuts! Albeit slightly flattened doughnuts in my case!

There is a recipe for Sighs of a Nun in the Goodhousekeeping World Cookery book which is where I first found out about them. They say Sighs of a Nun originate in Portugal and I have also seen recipes that say they came from France. I ended up using this recipe from The Spruce Eats so we are going with Spain!

Sighs of a Nun are fairly rich so just one or two will be enough…okay maybe three. Four will be fine. Hey, we’re at home. Who cares how many you eat?

Signs Of a Nun?

BTW, if you ever try to Google this recipe, Google has a bad habit (😃) of thinking you want to know about the signs of a nun…

If you were inadvertently directed here because you are trying to decide if you want to be a Bride of Christ…I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep the blasphemy and general debauchery down to a minimum. Sorry about the fart talk above. Given we are living in plague times, now more than ever I do not need the wrath of anyone’s God smiting me down.

Having said that, potential novitiates block your ears.

I can’t remember if I told this story at the time (it seems so long ago, for being less than a month!!!!), But when we were in the Uber on the way home from seeing New Order my friend Claire and I got an absolute earful from the driver who was a total God botherer. He kept saying to us “You people put your faith in science. What is science doing to stop this disease?”

Ummm….well…I don’t know EXACTLY. But I’ll put my money on science coming through with a cure before any type of divine intervention! And whilst we’re on that subject? When that cure comes, I certainly hope all those anti-vaxxers are going to politely wait at the back of a social isolation distance correct line while the rest of us get the jab and can give each other a big old hug!!!!

Happy Easter everyone!!!

27
Jan
2020

Millionaire’s Ice Cream

categories: Cornwall, Icecream, Original Recipes, Travel

Hello, people of the internet, welcome and hear me out. Because today I am making a bold statement. If you ever have to make the choice of cooking just one recipe from this blog, then, this Millionaire’s Ice Cream is the one! It’s seriously THAT good!!!! And so easy to make as well!

I first tasted Millionaire’s Ice Cream in Cornwall on holiday last year. At the time, I commented on Instagram that I had just eaten the best ice cream I had ever tasted. Of course, the setting helped. It was the gorgeous coastal town of Port Isaac.

If you are a fan of British TV shows about irascible doctors, Port Isaac may look familiar to you. The TV series Doc Martin is filmed here. The town is renamed Port Wenn in the series.

I have circled the Doc’s house in the above photo. And right down the road from the Doc’s house is Mrs Titchell’s pharmacy, which, in real life is the local sweet shop, Harbor Treats. I first tasted the delight that is Millionaire’s Ice Cream At Harbor Treats. Right away, I knew I wanted to make my own version of Millionaire’s ice cream when I got home! And here’s the thing, for something that tastes so luscious and decadent, Millonaire’s Ice Cream is one of the easiest things you can ever make.

That’s Bert Large, one of the locals of Port Wenn. But, back to the ice cream. Sure, you can make it more difficult by making all the components from scratch and I have added in links to each component to allow you to do just that if you so desire. The only thing I made from scratch was the chocolate ganache. And, to my mind, mine was as delicious as the one from Port Isaac.

So let’s get started.

Start with a layer of crumbled shortbread biscuits. Keep these a little bit chunky, you don’t want them to be as fine as if you were making a crumb crust.

Then a layer of vanilla ice cream.

Then a layer of salted caramel sauce. I used Bonne Maman but you can find a recipe here. Just splodge it on, it does not have to be perfect.

Then, repeat each of these layers. At any time during this process, if the icecream starts getting too runny, you can pop it into the freezer for about 10 minutes to allow it to firm up.

Finally, a layer of chocolate ganache over the top. This is the ganache recipe I followed. Then back into the freezer to allow everything to set. A little smattering of sea salt flakes over that ganache will not go astray either!

Get ready for YUM!!!!

This ice cream will make you feel like a million dollars!

And don’t worry, in case you get too excited by the ice cream, the good Doc is on hand to keep things in check

Have a great week!

20
Aug
2019

Honey, I Shrunk the Pies!

categories: Cook A Long, Desserts, Pastry, Pastry Desserts, Pieathalon, Vintage Recipes

Happy Pieathalon People of the internet! Yep, it’s that special time of year when a group of bloggers get together and bake the good, the bad and the ugly of vintage pies! It’s also my birthday week so it’s double the celebrations for me! Pie and champagne! Life, my friends, is good indeed!😍

Let’s get down to it, shall we?

The Pie

Pie choice day is always exciting. What will that email from Yinzerella reveal? There is always a slight worry in the excitement – I am happy to have an odd pie – but not too odd. One of my favourite parts of Pieathalon is that I get to eat a pie so I always give a little silent prayer. “Please do not let this contain anything disgusting like offal or beetroot. Or sugary onions.” Speaking of the sugary onions, my recipe came from The Nostalgic Cook who sent Jenny the Sweet Onion Pie recipe last year!

Luckily the Gods, (and Kari and Yinzerella) smiled down on me. The pie I received was a gorgeous sounding Honey Cream Cheese Pie from Sunset’s New Kitchen Cabinet Cookbook from 1938. It is described as a “not-quite-so rich version of the very rich German Cheesecake. This Honey Cream Cheese Pie will be welcomed by everyone”. It was more than welcomed by me. I had most of the ingredients which is important when you are leaving the country for a month! I did not want to buy things only to have to throw away any leftovers because we were going away!

This book looks great. I love the little cartoony insets. The recipe page also had a v cute cartoon for a less than appealing sounding carrot mould.

Speaking of which…remember a few Pieathalons ago, when I made the Lime Jello Pie? I totally forgot that I had moved it to the fridge in the garage so the housesitters could use the main fridge. When I opened the garage fridge about a week after we got home, it was like I had just put it in there. It had not changed one iota in the month it had been in there.

Terrifying!!!!!

The Song

Every year I get a song stuck in my head at Pieathalon time. For my first Pieathalon it was Waterloo by Abba. For the lime jello pie I went a bit hair-metal and subbed in the words “Lime Jello Pie” into “Sweet Cherry Pie”

There were two contenders this year. The first was, of course “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch” by the Four Tops. But nah, too obvious. The song that stuck was “Honey Child, what can I do?” by The Ballad of The Broken Seas. Which became Honey Pie what can I do? Which then morphed into….no, we’ll get to that…

Ch…ch…changes

The recipe for the pie says that it is big! Enough for 8 which was way too big given our impending departure. There were three eggs in the original recipe and everything else was easily divisible by three so I decided to make a third of the original recipe. And also that small pies were going to be easier to distribute out if we didn’t eat them all. It might be weird to give the neighbours who are picking up our mail a half-eaten pie. But I think, perfectly acceptable to give them a few freshly baked tartlets as a pre-emptive thank you.

The Bake aka Honey Pie what did I do?

I baked my pies on Saturday afternoon where there was a LOT happening. We were still booking some accommodation so there was stuff happening on the internet, there were phone calls, there was washing and packing and I don’t know just a lot of things going on. I was also obsessing about the nutmeg. Personally, I don’t like it so was trying to decide if I used it on all of the pies, or none or some.

But the making of the pies went perfectly. There was enough mixture for the 6 small pies and some leftover. I had a little taste of the raw filling, it was really good!!! I nutmegged three of the six tarts, popped them in the oven and went to hang out the washing.

When I came back inside I noticed a jug of milk on the bench. And realised that I had totally left the milk out of the recipe!!!!

It was too late to do anything about it. I briefly contemplated pulling the pies out of the oven, scraping out the filling, adding the milk and refilling them but they were already a little bit too set for that.

So, there was nothing to do but to sit and wait to see how these milkless tarts would turn out.

My song quickly became “Honey pies what did I do?”

The Verdict

The honey cream cheese pies looked so gorgeous when they came out of the oven, gorgeous golden domes. The smell of the baking was divine. And they tasted delicious!

We had one each while they were still warm from the oven and they were like a cross between a cheesecake and a Portuguese tart. So tasty.

I don’t know what the milk would have done to these but they were so good without it that I will not add it in when I make these again, which I will definitely do!

We had no leftovers to give neighbours or anyone else! I ate the last one the following night as we waited for the Uber to take us to the airport. With a little glass of sparkling wine, it was the perfect end to Pieathalon 2019 and the start of the holiday!

Thanks as ever to the amazing Yinzerella who organises this whole shebang each year!

You can find her Pieathalon recipe over at Dinner is Served 1972 and check out all the other pieathletes per the links below. Why not start with Kelly over at the Velveteen Lounge who got my recipe for Angel Pie?

Here is the full list of this year’s participants. Some of the links will not be working yet, I will update later today as people post their recipes!

Battenburg Belle baked Betty Crocker’s Hawaiian Pie

Doctor Bobb made a Macaroon Pie

Camilla channeled Alf from Home and Away and made a Flaming peach pie!

Yinzeralla got surreal with a Dali Oasis Leek Pie

Greg got arty, but did not choke on his Artichoke pie

Jenny found her inner Italian with a spaghetti pie

Kaci at the Homicidal Homemaker bammed some berries and produced some Bamberry turnovers

Kari at The Nostalgic Cook, who provided my recipe got a bit saucy with a Cheese Applesauce Pie

Kelly, the angel over at Velveteen Lounge made my Angel Pie

Surly got a Salmon Custard Pie. Oh dear, I might be surly too….

Peter whipped up some low calorie goodness with a Weight Watchers Cherrie Pies…?

Poppy made Banana Split Pie…I do hope she didn’t fall on the peel!

SS got fidgety with a Huntingdon fidget pie

And finally, here is the musical accompaniment for this post!

Thanks again to Yinzerella for organising this and Kari for the fab recipe!

Have a great week!