Summer Treats

Refreshments from the 17th & 18th centuries
Back left: Cool Summer Drink, Back right: Mrs Yorke’s Lemonade, Front: Lemonada

Wotchers!

A bumper-fun pack of recipes for you as I bid a brief farewell for the summer – there’s too many weeds in the garden and the fruit bushes are burgeoning! I’d hate you to get bored while I’m away, so I’ve prepared a few things for you to play with in the interim.

I don’t think I’ve done drinks on the blog before, but I’ve got a trio of delicious variations on lemonade, originating in the 17th century manuscript books at the Wellcome Library. They are each wonderfully thirst-quenching and will make for a delicious treat to have in the fridge.

There’s also a sweet treat in the form of shortcake: made with the odd-looking but fantastically-flavoured flat peaches and nectarines, available just now in the supermarkets and in abundance in France where we spend summer holidays – can hardly wait! It is served with Standby Cream, made from evaporated milk and lemon juice. Obviously, cream would be first choice, but if you’re out or the cream you have has unexpectedly turned, then it’s handy to have up your sleeve – and in your cupboard. I found the recipe in an old Whitworth’s leaflet from the 1940s.

Sidebar: I cannot stress highly enough the wonderful recipes that are to be found in various vintage cooking and baking leaflets. Not all will be gems, I grant you – a prime example being Fanny Cradock’s Banana Candles – but it is worth browsing through them, however dull they appear from the cover, with the aim of spotting something delightful.

And finally, for the adventurous, an unusual dessert in the form of a gloriously vibrant beetroot tart: given an official Thumb’s Up™ by my daughter.

Mrs Yorke’s Lemonade – the best that can be made

From the recipe book of Mary Rooke, 1770s.

225g granulated sugar
225ml fresh lemon juice (from 4 juicy lemons – have 5, just in case)
Thin strips of peel from 4 lemons
900ml boiling water
450ml boiling milk

• Put the sugar, lemon juice, thinly peeled lemon peel into a bowl.
• Pour over the boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
• Cover with plastic and allow to cool.
• When cold, pour in the boiling milk. NB The lemon juice will cause the milk to curdle. DON’T PANIC – THIS IS FINE.
• Cover with plastic and allow to cool, then chill overnight in the fridge.
• Strain the solids out by passing the lemonade through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Strain the lemonade finely by passing it through a jelly bag, or a double layer of muslin. Be sure to scald the muslin first by pouring boiling water over it, then squeeze out the excess moisture.
• To have your lemonade especially clear, rinse the muslin thoroughly and double the layers to 4 and pass the lemonade through it again. This will take longer than the first time, due to the greater number of layers of material.
• Taste and add more sugar if liked. For adults only, you can add 225ml of white wine. Choose one with light, citrus flavours.
• Chill thoroughly.
• Serve over ice.

Cool Summer Drink

Anon., 17th century

This is a very refreshing drink similar to an Indian lassi. The milk will tend to separate slightly, so blending the drink just before serving helps combat this.

450ml milk
400ml water
½ tsp rosewater – I use Nielsen Massey
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 nutmeg, grated
1 sprig rosemary
1 tbs granulated sugar

Slices of lemon and sprigs of rosemary to serve

• Bruise the rosemary to release its flavour by gently tapping the leaves with a rolling-pin.
• Put all of the ingredients into a jug.
• Cover with plastic and allow to infuse for 2 hours in the fridge.
• Remove the rosemary and strain the drink by passing it through a fine-mesh sieve, which will catch any rosemary leaves that might have fallen from the stem.
• Using a stick blender or liquidiser, thoroughly mix the drink to an even consistency.
• Serve at once.

Lemonada

Anon., 17th century

600ml light and fresh German white wine – Liebfraumilch or Reisling
450ml water
225g granulated sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
juice of 1 orange
5cm stick of cinnamon
1/4 nutmeg in 1 piece
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, sliced thinly

• Put all of the ingredients into a pan over a low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Bring to the boil, cover and remove from the heat.
• Allow to steep until cold.
• Strain to remove solids and chill in the fridge until required.
• Serve over ice.

Flat Peach & Nectarine Shortcake

Flat peaches and nectarines are, almost without fail, sweet and juicy, and their flattened shape makes them much easier to eat in public and still retain some dignity. Their shape also make for perfectly sized slices for these shortcakes. These quantities will make 2 shortcakes, each of which will serve 4-6 people. If this is too large for your needs, use just half the fruit and freeze the unfilled second shortcake until wanted. The cream will not hold it’s shape indefinitely, so it is very much a whisk and serve at once ingredient.

8 flat peaches or nectarines or a mixture of the two
2-3 tbs caster sugar
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
60g butter
30g caster sugar
milk to mix

Standby Cream
200ml chilled evaporated milk
3tbs icing sugar
strained juice of 1 lemon

• Peel the fruit:
  • Fill a pan of water and bring it to the boil.
  • Gently drop the fruit into the hot water for 1 minute.
  • Remove the fruit and place immediately in cold, preferably iced, water for 1 minute.
  • Using a sharp knife, lift the skin away from the flesh and peel. The skin will come away easily.
• Slice the fruit.  Discard the stones.
• Put the fruit into a bowl and sprinkle with 2-3tbs of caster sugar.
• Toss gently, and cover with plastic. Set aside for 1 hour while the shortcake is  made.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
• Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
• Put the flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Tip the mixture into a large bowl.
• Using a round-ended knife, gradually stir in the milk until the mixture comes together into a soft dough.
• Tip the dough on to a floured surface and divide roughly in half.
• Pat each piece of dough into a circle about 15cm in diameter.
• Place dough circles onto the prepared baking sheet and brush with milk.
• Bake for 15 minutes until risen and golden.
• Cool on a wire rack.

Standby Cream

• Put the evaporated milk and icing sugar into a bowl and whisk vigorously until light, frothy and doubled in size.
• Still whisking, add the lemon juice.
• The mixture will thicken immediately to a serving consistency.

To Serve

• Cut each shortcake horizontally through the centre.
• Spoon a layer of fruit over the shortcake together with 1-2 spoonfuls of juice that will have formed.
• Top the fruit with the cream.
• Lay the top of the shortcake onto the cream and dust all with icing sugar.

The Shrewsbury Pudding Tart

Georgiana Hill, 1862

I’ve tweaked this recipe slightly and baked it in a pastry case, for ease of serving. The original method was for a buttered-and-breadcrumbed bowl. The cooking times are roughly the same. The flavour is very light and delicate, the lemon counteracting a lot of the beetroot’s sweetness.

1 x 24cm blind-baked pastry shell

225g cooked beetroot
115g unsalted butter – melted
150g icing sugar
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
3 large eggs
60ml brandy
150-200g fresh white breadcrumbs

• Preheat the oven to 150°C, 130°C Fan.
• Puree the beetroot until smooth.
• Add the butter, sugar, lemon, eggs and brandy and whisk thoroughly.
• Add in the breadcrumbs BUT not all at once. You want them to absorb a lot of the moisture in the filling, which will vary depending on the freshness of the eggs and the moisture in the beetroot. You might not need all of them. The texture should be similar to a sponge cake mix, but still pourable.
• Add the filling to the pie shell and place the tin on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until the filling has set. Turn the baking sheet around after 15 minutes to ensure even baking.
• Cool on a wire rack.