Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons

Almond macaroons have been popular sweetmeats in England since medieval times.
Coconut macaroons are a Victorian version of the original recipe using dried coconut in place of ground almonds. Made this way, children love them! Top with a sliver of candied cherry or tint them the palest pink with a drop or two of red food coloring.

Ingredients
Rice paper
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 cups dried coconut
2 egg whites
Glace cherries, sliced

Preparation
Lay the rice paper on an ungreased baking sheet with the smooth side uppermost. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Whisk in the sugar, then fold in the coconut. Pile the mixture in twelve pyramid shapes on the rice paper. Top each pyramid with a small slice of cherry.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a pale golden brown.
Leave on the baking sheet until cold. Tear around the rice paper to separate. Makes 12.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

16 slices of cracked wheat bread
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 medium cucumber, sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
carrot curls



Preparation:

Remove crust from bread and cut into rounds. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, chives, parsley, and lemon juice. Blend well. Spread each cutout with cream cheese mixture. Top with a cucumber slice and garnish with a carrot curl. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 32 sandwiches.

Tea with the Queen: A Victorian Menu

Tea

Henry James wrote, "There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as an afternoon tea." 

Afternoon tea was invented by Anna Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857), one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting. 

During this time, the noble classes ate large breakfasts, small lunches and late suppers. 

Every afternoon, Anna experienced what she referred to as a "sinking feeling," so she requested that her servants bring her tea and petite-sized cakes to her boudoir. 

Many followed the Duchess' lead, and thus the ritual of afternoon tea was birthed. In fact, a culture of sorts emerged around the tradition of drinking tea. 

Fine hotels began to offer tea rooms, while tea shops opened for the general public. Tea dances also became popular social events at which Victorian ladies met potential husbands. 

Our special "Tea With the Queen" menu includes our favorite tea recipes, as well as one recipe for Victorian lemonade, as an alternative to tea. 


Tea Sandwiches
Tea sandwiches are traditionally light, delicate sandwiches sliced small enough to be picked up with the fingers or a pair of sandwich tongs. Teas sandwiches can be cut into triangles or, using cookie cutters, shapes for special occasions. White or wheat bread, with the crusts cut off, can be used for these sandwiches. The following recipes are modern interpretations of Victorian tea fare.

Choice of bread, sliced
Butter
Seedless cucumber
Canned tuna, drained
Tuna seasoning (your choice)
Mayonnaise
Cream cheese
Smoked salmon
Eggs, boiled (or egg salad of your choice)
Watercress
Choice of garnish, if desired Cucumber Sandwiches:
1. After cutting off the crusts of the bread and cutting the bread into triangles or shapes, butter both sides of the bread.
2. Cut seedless cucumber (sold in gourmet supermarkets, always wrapped in cellophane) into very thin slices, and place between bread slices.
3. Garnish if desired.
Tuna Sandwiches:
1. Mix one can of tuna (drained) with tuna seasoning and enough mayonnaise to make a thick spread.
2. Spread on prepared slices of bread. You may add thin slices of cucumber if desired along with garnish.
Salmon Sandwiches:
1. Spread cream cheese on prepared slices of bread.
2. Place thin slices of smoked salmon (Nova is particularly good) between slices of bread.
Egg Sandwiches:
1. Mix sectioned boiled egg and mayonnaise (or use store bought egg salad) and season as desired.
2. Spread on slices of prepared bread.
3. Add thin slices of cucumber if desired, along with garnish.
Watercress Sandwiches:
1. Spread cream cheese on prepared slices of bread.
2. Rinse and dry watercress and lay between slices of bread.
3. Garnish if desired.

Scones with Lemon Curd and Clotted Cream
 
Scones are traditionally served with afternoon tea and accompanied by lemon curd and clotted cream. You can add a variety of treats into the batter, such as raisins, fresh apple bits, orange peel, cranberries, and chocolate chips. Lemon Curd is a traditional spread for scones, and is usually served with Devonshire (or clotted) cream. Our lemon curd is rich and smooth, and can be kept refrigerated for up to two weeks. Unfortunately, Americans cannot make clotted cream or Devonshire cream, as we do not have the same breed of cows as in England. Instead of buying an expensive import, ERAS offers a simple recipe for clotted cream, which is perfect for spreading on scones.

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk)
1 lightly beaten egg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sour cream To make scones:
1. Mix baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt and cut in 6 tablespoons of butter until the mix is crumbly.
2. Pour in the buttermilk until the dough is sticky. Be careful not to overmix. The dough should cling together.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape drop or use a biscuit cutter to form biscuit sized scones. The secret of tender scones is a minimum of handling.
4. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush with egg for a shiny brown scone.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-20 minutes, until light brown.
To make lemon curd:
1. Wisk 1 cup sugar and 2 large eggs in a bowl until blended.
2. Sift in 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice.
3. Pour into a saucepan and cook over low-medium heat stirring constantly for 20 minutes. Do not let the mixture come to a boil (lest it curdle or burn), but allow it to gradually thicken.
4. When the mixture thickly coats the back of a metal spoon, remove pan from heat and stire in 1/4 cup butter until melted.
5. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours. The lemon curd will thicken as it cools.
To make clotted cream:
1. Mix 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar using an electric mixer. Whip until stiff peaks form.
2. Gently fold in sour cream and mix until thick.
3. Place in refrigerator and chill until time to serve. If made ahead of time, it will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 hours. 

Cherries Jubilee Cake
Many special dishes were created in Queen Victoria's honor during her 64-year reign. Among them was a dessert called Cherries Jubilee, which was invented for Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1897. This Jubilee Cake, which uses Cherries Jubilee as a filling, is a truly fancy dessert in grand Victorian style.

5 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt Cream cheese filling:
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cherry jelly
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Cherry filling:
1 quart pitted black cherries
1/2 cup claret
1 cup or less sugar (to taste)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
To make cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Beat the egg whites until they stand up in soft peaks.
3. Beat in the 1/4 cup of sugar a tablespoon at a time.
4. Without washing the beater, beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice until thick and lemon-colored.
5. Gradually beat in the 3/4 cup of sugar.
6. Pour the yolk mixture over beaten egg whites and fold together gently with a spoon or spatula until well blended.
7. Sift the flour and salt together and fold into the egg mixture.
8. Spoon the batter into two unbuttered 9-inch layer pans.
9. Cut through the batter gently several times to break any large air bubbles.
10. Bake about 30 minutes. Test by pressing lightly with a finger. If the cake springs back, it is done.
11. Invert on a wire rack and cool.
To make cream cheese filling:
1. Cream the sugar and cream cheese together.
2. Add remaining ingredients and beat until thick.
To make cherry filling:
1. Dissolve the sugar in the claret and pour over the cherries. Let stand for several hours.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of the cherry juice.
3. Heat the cherries in a sauce pan to the boiling point.
4. Lower heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring constantly until thickened.
5. Remove from heat, add spices and lemon juice and allow to cool.
To assemble cake:
1. Place one layer of sponge cake on a cake platter and spread a layer of cream filling about 3 inches wide around the perimeter of the top of the cake.
2. Cut out the center (in a heart shape if you are using heart-shaped pans) of the other layer, leaving a 3-inch border.
3. Put aside the center piece you cut out. Place the layer with the cut-out center on top of the other and press down to make the layers stick together.
4. Decorate by placing a paper doily on top of the cake and sifting confectioners' sugar over the doily.
5. Carefully remove the doily and fill the center of the cake with the cherry filling. 

Victorian recipe of Apricot Cake

Apricot Cake

• Half a tin of apricots
• Quarter pint of apricot juice
• Four ounces of rich short pastry
• Five ounces of sugar
• Whites of three eggs
• A little almond essence

Method; Roll the pastry into a round the size of a dinner plate, roll scraps of pastry into strips to form edging. Wet the edges of the pastry and form a lip with the strips. Place on a flat baking tin, make two or three incisions with a fork in the centre of the round of pastry to keep it flat and bake until a light brown. Whip the eggs to a stiff paste and sweeten with two ounces of sugar and almond essence. Using a force bag add plenty of the stiff paste around the whole circle to produce a high edge then dust with sugar; return to the oven until it is lightly brown. In tandem with the above place a quarter pint of apricot juice with three ounces of sugar into a saucepan; boil gently until it sets, test by dropping a little from a spoon onto a plate. When both the pastry and the syrup had cooled arrange the apricots and pour over the syrup

Recipe of Victorian Plum Cake

Plum Cake

• Twelve ounces of butter
• Twelve ounces of flour
• Eight ounces of sugar
• Four ounces of candied cherries
• Four ounces of raisins
• Four ounces of sultanas
• Four ounces of chopped almonds
• Four ounces of mixed candied orange, lemon, and citron peel
• Grated rind of one lemon and one orange
• Half a teaspoonful of mixed spice
• Two eggs
• One glass of brandy
• Dust of salt

Method; Beat the butter and sugar into a cream and add the eggs [well beaten] alternately with the flour [sifted], then add the brandy and beat the mixture for ten minutes in a reasonable sized bowl.. Stone the raisins and chop slightly, also divide the cherries and cut up the peel into rather large pieces. Then add all these ingredients to the cake mix and mix well. Pour into a suitable sized cake tin which has been lined with oil paper and bake in a moderate oven for three to three and a half hours.

Recipe of St. Honore Cake

St. Honore Cake

• Choux pastry
• Three ounces of short pasty
• Three ounces of sugar
• Quarter pint of milk
• Half an ounce of flour
• Whites of three eggs and their yolks
• One teaspoonful of lemon juice
• Candied cherries
• Icing

Method; Prepare the short pastry and roll out to the size of a breakfast plate and place on a baking tin.

Make a pate a choux and put into a forcing bag with a plain nozzle, make a ring around the edge of the pastry within a half an inch of the edge, also add some little dots of the mixture onto the baking tin, then bake until brown and set.

Went cold, dip the small pieces in the icing and place around the edge of the pastry, with cherries between. Moisten the flour and sugar with the yolks and milk, add flavouring, then heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, then set aside and allow to cool.

Whip up the egg whites into a very stiff constituency and stir lightly into the custard mixture. Form into egg shapes using two large spoons, a heap in the centre of the gateau.

Recipe of Victorian Apple Cheesecakes

Victorian Apple Cheesecakes

• Eight ounces of apples
• Three cloves
• Three ounces of brown sugar
• Two eggs
• One ounce of butter
• One tablespoonful of castor sugar
• Some scraps of short or puff pastry

Method; Roll out the pastry and cut into rounds, then line some patty tins.

Peel and core the apples then cut into quarters, place in a saucepan with one tablespoonful of water together with the cloves, then stew until soft.

Add the butter and sugar and when dissolve mix with the cooked apples then rub through a fine wire sieve; beat up the eggs and add the apples. Place a little of the apple mixture into each patty tin and bake for fifteen minutes. The cakes may be decorated if so wished.