Fine French Macaroones

February 7, 2021February 4, 2021 Little DorritLeave a comment

Macaroons are small, delicate biscuits made with almonds, sugar, and egg whites – not to be confused with sandwich-cookie style macarons, which weren’t invented until the 1930s. The original macaroons date back to at least the 14th or 15th centuries. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, they were usually served with wine or liquor as a light refreshment, or crushed and used in trifles or other desserts. They could come in several different flavors, but most commonly were made with either rose water or orange-flower water, as in this Regency era version.

Hedgehog

January 31, 2021January 17, 2021 Little Dorrit2 Comments

No actual hedgehogs were harmed in the making of this recipe.

Bangor Brownies

January 24, 2021January 17, 2021 Little Dorrit1 Comment

In my last post, I made Fannie Merritt Farmer’s molasses brownies, the earliest incarnation of brownies. Chocolate brownies came on the scene just a few years later in the early 1900s, although historians don’t agree on which exact recipe was the first. This 1904 recipe for Bangor Brownies is certainly one of the earliest brownie recipes to include chocolate.

Brownies

January 17, 2021January 17, 2021 Little Dorrit2 Comments

The earliest brownies, like this recipe from Fannie Merritt Farmer’s 1896 The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, contained no chocolate whatsoever.

Fanchonettes

January 10, 2021January 7, 2021 Little DorritLeave a comment

Fanchonettes are a type of French tart, traditionally topped with meringue. This recipe comes from Charles Elmé Francatelli, who most likely learned how to make them when he was training under Antonin Carême, a famous French chef at the time. The 1836 English translation of Carême’s books, French Cookery, contains a similar recipe for fanchonettes, which can be flavored with vanilla, almonds, coffee, currants, pistachios, hazelnuts, or apricots. I chose to make Francatelli’s version, however, because his fanchonettes are made with chocolate – my favorite.

Harry the VIII’s Shoestrings

January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 Little DorritLeave a comment

These cute little pastries are another recipe from Charles Elmé Francatelli, who was briefly the personal chef to Queen Victoria. I can definitely picture the queen snacking on these!

To Mull Wine

December 31, 2020December 31, 2020 Little DorritLeave a comment

“ ‘He has given us plenty of merriment, I am sure,’ said Fred, ‘and it would be ungrateful not to drink his health. Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment; and I say, “Uncle Scrooge!”…a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is!’ ” -Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843.

Christmas Pudding

December 26, 2020 Little Dorrit3 Comments

Eliza Acton, one of the first authors to provide a recipe for a specifically “Christmas” pudding, actually included 3 different recipes for Christmas puddings in her encyclopedic work, Modern Cookery in all its Branches. This one, titled “The Author’s Christmas Pudding,” is evidently her own recipe; she calls it a “remarkably light small rich pudding.”

Sour Milk Ginger Bread

December 20, 2020December 17, 2020 Little Dorrit1 Comment

This gingerbread comes from Foods That Will Win the War, a pamphlet and recipe book instructing cooks how to save food during World War I. Although the United States never had official rationing during the first World War, the U.S. Food Administration ran an aggressive propaganda campaign urging Americans not to waste food, especially wheat, meat, fats, and sugar. Gingerbread was perfect for this, since the use of molasses as a sweetener means that it can be made without any added sugar at all.

Queen Cakes

December 13, 2020December 11, 2020 Little Dorrit2 Comments

Queen cakes, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, were little cakes usually baked in fancy molds. I was drawn to this particular recipe, from Eliza Leslie’s 1828 book Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, because it seemed especially fancy. Although queen cakes could be made any time of year, Leslie suggests decorating these with red and green nonpareils, which made me think they would be perfect for Christmas.

History in the Making

recreating historic foods and crafts

Author: Little Dorrit