Caledonian Cream - A delicious Scottish dessert made with - you guessed it - organic whisky

Caledonian cream has been long associated with Burns' Night suppers and indeed it is a beautifully light finish to what is a substantial meal of soup, haggis, neeps and potatoes. However, it is also, like syllabub, often on wedding breakfast menus and according to a book I have just been reading, a firm favourite of Queen Victoria's Christmas fare at Balmoral. For us it certainly provides some sunshine in a wet Normandie Winter.

This is one of these recipes that is difficult to date because it was often a family one and handed-down by word-of-mouth. Even the fact that one of the elements didn't become available until 1797 isn't decisive, as presumably even that could have been substituted for some other ingredient in an earlier version!

Caledonian cream is easier to make if you have already have this aforementioned ingredient, which is Seville marmalade, tucked away in your cupboards. It is, however, quite simple just to make up a quick batch from a few citrus fruits and their rinds if you are outside the (very short) season for bitter oranges. You may just need to use more lemon juice and less sugar to get that fine aigre-doux balance. This is a dessert that suffers, just as marmalade itself does,  if you overdo the sweetness. I will put a link to my marmalade recipe at the bottom of the page.

This dessert is a real celebration of Scottish ingredients as it contains two of its  famous 'inventions' and exports marmalade and whisky. 

Ingredients

300ml or ½ a pint of raw crème fraîche épaisse*, whipping or thick cream

2 tablespoons of malt whisky (you can also use brandy and we have made it with Calvados aka Normandie apple brandy)

2 tablespoons of Seville marmalade

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon of rapadura or raw cane sugar

This will make four servings.

*This is cream which has been left to stand and cool after full cream milk, such as A2 raw Normandy, has been run through a separator. I know this because some few weeks ago I got up at, what was to me, the crack of dawn to go and film the process. More of this in a later article.

Method

If you are using a thin crème fraîche then you will need to whip this up prior to incorporating the rest of the ingredient. You can over-beat cream so I usually beat it until it forms something that looks like the leaves of a book. However, for the last two years I have been able to get my cream directly from the cow - raw and organic and so thick a spoon will stand up in it.

 


Add the sugar and marmalade to the cream and incorporate by folding into cream with a large spoon







Add the spirit and lemon juice and mix well.



Whisk the mixture together until thick.


You can then spoon into glasses and leave to chill or you can do as I did and use the mixture to assemble our 'Caledonian Sundae'.

I added a layer of pure marmalade to the bottom of the glass and then decorated the top with some home-made chocolate dipped orange peels. A touch more marmalade and some curls of dark chocolate.

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it and to comment and/or ask questions.

Thanks for dropping by and 'til the next time for another recipe from an old farm-house in Normandie, all the best,

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© 2014 Sue Cross

Traditional Cider Syllabub - a simple, elegant and ancient festive dessert

Although syllabub puddings in literature are often associated with Wedding feasts they are delicious at any time of year and particularly in the Winter months, imbued with the very essence of festive cheer. The version pictured below is a syllabub coupe made with layers of medlar purée, rose hip syrup, medlar flavoured and plain syllabub and dark chocolate.

However, nothing beats a simple syllabub to accompany the final (third!) crop of figs freshly plucked from the garden.

A little history with a dash of verjus

Ironically syllabub started life not as a classy dessert but as a very special drink. Since Mediaeval times and right up to the end of the 17th century, it was the traditional love-token exchanged between milk-maids and their sweethearts. Known simply as a 'from the cow' recipe, in this version, the cow was milked directly into a bowl of crab apple verjus, sugar or honey. Made, as the name suggests, mainly from pressing unripe grapes or crab apples, verjus was a popular Mediaeval cookery ingredient, being preferred to vinegar or lemon as a condiment or for déglaçage, as it didn't conflict with accompanying wines. In recent years verjus has enjoyed a renaissance, particularly in contemporary organic French and American cuisine, where it is used in vinaigrettes, sauces and marinades and for the same reason. It also fits well into the ethos of organic because it uses fruit thinnings, which would otherwise be discarded. 

So with verjus back as an easily obtainable ingredient, if you would like to venture into making syllabub in the traditional manner and have a tame and/or very accommodating cow, goat or sheep, then I will provide a link at the bottom of the page to some very brave and experimental cooks.

From the 18th century onwards however, syllabub began to change, becoming much easier to prepare and much less the preserve of milk-maids.

Ingredients

1 lemon
2 - 3 tablespoons of rapadura - pure raw cane sugar
100ml or 4 fl oz of dry farm cider
300ml or ½ a pint of raw crème fraîche épaisse*, whipping or thick cream

*This is cream which has been left to stand and cool after full cream milk, such as A2 raw Normandy has been run through a separator. I know this because some few weeks ago I got up at, what was to me, the crack of dawn to go and film the process. More of this in a later article.

You may be looking at this list and thinking sooo simple. Well, not so because with organic quality raw products the depth of flavours is incredible. This is the irony of organic raw materials, which by their very method of production and lack of subsidy, will cost more than those of industrial farming but you do not need a whole host of extra costing ingredients, aromas and additives.

Method

In order to permit this depth of flavour to fully develop, it is best to allow at least an hour for the ingredients other than the cream to rest and infuse. However, if this is a last-minute party-effort do not worry, just make sure you have enough left over to enjoy by yourself the day after, when it will be richer, glossier and most indulgently delicious.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and remove the outer layer of peel.

Add the sugar and cider and if possible leave for at least an hour to infuse.

Incorporate the cream with a hand whisk or electric beater, until it forms into 'leaves' or peaks.

Ignore cut-and-paste impostors who tell you crème fraîche does not whip, even the organic shop-bought thin version does.

Uses

Sylabub can be used to make up coupes or sundaes, it makes great frosting for a cake and an extra-sumptuous top-layer for a trifle. It is delicious with Christmas pudding read more and divine just eaten on its own.

 

It can be made with wine or spirits (use less!), sherry or Shakespearean sack (whatever that is). Like all great recipes it can be altered to suit. If you prefer, use a fruit juice but make sure it is tart enough to be carried by the cream. Have fun experimenting!

Now if you'd like to sit back and watch the film:


If you've enjoyed this recipe think about sharing it and feel free to ask questions, comment and/or make observations.

Here for the more adventurous is the 'from the goat' recipe and here a most comprehensive essay on syllabub plus'direct from the cow' recipe experience.

All the very best, 'til next time and another recipe from an old farm house in Normandie,
Sue

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© 2014 Sue Cross

Organic Courgette Zucchini Cake Recipe with Raw Cream Chantilly and Nasturtiums

This time of year you are probably either snowed under with Summer squash from your own garden or fending off friends and neighbours as they proffer armfuls of their own. We even have one person who flits about the village leaving them on doorsteps or posting them through car windows. It's a shame to undervalue them in a glut because they are nutritious, have anti-oxidant properties and can be eaten in so many different ways. One of our favourites is raw in salads, using both fruit and flowers but below is perhaps a more unusual one, a delicious moist cake.

I first made this some years ago for a village supper and asked everyone to guess what was in it - they could all taste the home-grown ginger but the subtle green colour and hint of some other more elusive ingredient, had them baffled. Since then it's become a regular favourite with so many, so happy to have found another use for the ubiquitous courgette.

The recipe is based upon my favourite Carrot Cake one given to me by my sister and I have used it since to create other cakes with a variety of root vegetables, including beetroot, parsnip and turmeric. In fact I am about to make a marble cake so will post it here in the blog when I have done so.

It's a very simple cake, which really suits organic ingredients which are strong in flavour and need no other additives than their own delicious selves. You could use your own favourite carrot or apple cake recipe to make this too. A word on sugar, I usually halve the sugar requirements as outlined in most old recipes, organic sugar really is sweeter and if you use something like rapadura, has a strong flavour which you do not want to overshadow the rest. As with all cookery, this recipe is about experimentation and you can always add an extra hint of sweetness in the cream Chantilly. 

The ginger (foreground above) we grow and make ourselves and there is a link here as to how crystallise it http://simplyorganicrecipes.blogspot.fr/2013/02/how-to-crystallise-organic-ginger-root.html#.U-pbnP5Du5k. A friend has also made this cake with raw grated root ginger and again it's all about experimentation and preferences, particularly in the balance of sweetness. You could make this simple cake with all sorts of seasonal fruits and vegetables, just let your imagination run wild! Just like our courgette plants in the 5 dollar greenhouse below.

Other than the home-grown organics, I get my certified organic ingredients from my local organic shop, which has a charter to source locally whenever possible. My raw cream comes directly from our local organic dairy farm.

Ingredients

8oz (225g) courgettes
A handful of preserved/crystallised ginger
6oz  (175g) raw butter
6oz (175g) unrefined caster sugar
2 eggs
8oz (225g) plain flour
5g organic raising agent
(we do not have self-raising flour in France)

Oven Temperature 350 °F (180 °C)

 

Firstly, grate the courgette and express the juice by pressing through a sieve or just by squeezing it in the hand.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the beaten egg. Slowly incorporate the flour and raising agent, then the crystallised ginger and finally the grated courgette.

Spoon into a buttered and lined loaf tin and bake for one and a quarter hours approximately. To check if cooked insert a cocktail stick into the middle of the cake if it is ready the stick will come out clean.

The cake can be decorated simply with a dusting of icing sugar but we really enjoy it with raw cream, whipped and slightly sweetened to Chantilly and then decorated with edible flowers and leaves from the garden.

As zucchini plants are so prolific and as the fruits keep well if stored in a cool dry place, you can be eating this cake even as the first frosts begin to bite. A delicious reminder of the changing seasons, brightening up the Winter days with the fragrance and taste of Summer.

..and now if you'd like to, sit back and watch the film:

Thanks for dropping by. All the best and please feel free to comment and share this recipe,

Sue

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© 2014 Sue Cross

Rich fruit, spice and spirit pastry, Candlemas gift but delicious on any day! Plus gluten-free version.

Pudding by candlelight, a traditional gift of a rich dried fruit, spice, butter, apple and wine/spirit pastry, which was given at Candlemas but is so good eaten any time of the year.

'End now the white loaf and the pie, 

And let all sports with Christmas die.'

Robert Herrick Upon Candlemas Day 

THE HESPERIDES 1648

Poetry and good food are synonymous and God-Cakes or God-kitchels are no exception. They were considered worthy enough by Chaucer's 15th century ecclesiastical court servants to be acceptable payment for the saving of a soul or delivery from penance:

 'Give us a bushel of wheat, malt, or rye,
A Goddes kechyl, or a trype of chese,
A little cake, or a bit of cheese’            
.'

Geoffrey Chaucer The Sumonour's Tale

THE CANTERBURY TALES  1478

These quintessential mincemeat tarts, the probable forerunners of the mince-pies of today, were rich fruit and spice-laden pastries traditionally given by god parents to their god children on New Year's Day and at Easter. As with the plum pudding, the ingredients in the mincemeat included beef and were essentially a way of preserving meat over the Winter months. With changing tastes and the ability to keep livestock all year round, overtime these became sweet rather than savoury pies. As with many of these early delicacies the individual recipes were handed down verbally but these pies also have regional associations, with the God-cakes coming from Coventry in the West Midlands and the Kitchels from Suffolk.

Above is the gluten-free version of the Coventry God-cake, I took to a family dinner on Boxing Day. I just used a ready made gluten-free flour. The trick with the gluten-free flour is not to skimp on the butter and if you are using it, organic virgin coconut oil. I always use half the quantity of fat to flour and this is particularly important with gluten-free flour, otherwise you can end up with a very hard pastry. Some recipes suggest puff pastry for God-cakes but personally I much prefer short crust as a complement to the fruit. You can also make these pies from leftover mincemeat but I like to make them from whatever dried organic fruit and nuts I have available. However, in keeping with the old mincemeat recipes I  add a touch of Christmas cheer in the form of a dash of brandy or similar spirit.

To make one large God-cake, as pictured above, you will need two handfuls of filling. My mix comprises;  dried:- figs, dates, apricots, prunes cranberries, raisins, sultanas, plus almonds and hazelnuts. To this I add a raw chopped apple, half a teaspoon of mixed spice*, a dessert spoon of rapadura (raw cane sugar), the grated peel of a lemon and a dash of brandy.


I leave the mix to stand and incorporate all the flavours whilst making the short crust pastry. 

*('mixed spice' is a traditional British pie, pudding, biscuit and cake blend, made from, ground coriander, cassia, ginger, nutmeg, caraway and cloves).

For the one large God-cake, which is enough for four servings, I use 170g (6oz) of flour, 2 dessert spoons of powdered almonds to 120g (4¼oz) of raw butter and 50g (1¾oz) of coconut oil. I then rub all these ingredients together to make a mix which resembles breadcrumbs. At this stage, I then add a dessertspoon of rapadura and  enough water to make a stiff paste. I roll the paste out onto a board into a square. 

The God-cake was traditionally a triangular cake, which was meant to represent the Trinity. It is this religious symbolism, along with the crib shaped mince-pies, which was supposed to have been instrumental in getting these pies banned from sale during the period of the Commonwealth in  seventeenth century England.


The filling then has a dessertspoon of coconut oil or raw butter added to it before it is spooned over half the square so it can be folded over to form the triangular pie. I usually make a few cuts into the pastry, to let any possible steam, from the raw apple out of the pie and stop the pastry from going soggy. I cook my pie in a wood cooker at approximately 200°C or 400°F for about 15 minutes or depending on your oven, until the pastry is starting to turn a golden colour. I then sprinkle with a layer of 'icing' sugar, which I just make by grinding up raw organic sugar in a blender.

This pie goes very well with raw cream or cider syllabub.

 

So enjoy this last day of Christmas and remember today we are half way across the Winter and heading towards the Spring.

The works of Robert Herrick can be found here at here and the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer can be found here with interlinear translation from Middle English; here

All the very best and thanks for dropping by,

Sue 

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© 2014 Sue Cross