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

Return to 'WHAT'S ON THE MENU' for more Simply Organic Recipes

© 2014 Sue Cross

Clafoutis with foraged fruits - balckberries, rose hips and sloes. Gluten-free

This is another variation of clafoutis, the pastry-less Limousin tart and I will be posting a savoury version shortly but I wanted this recipe to introduce the fabulous foraging season. September seems to have ushered in a bumper crop of wild fruit, which is timely, as the apple harvest, here at least, doesn't auger well.

The fun of foraging

If, like us, you are buying a percentage of your organic foodstuffs, then it can be both profitable and enjoyable to find some additional provisions for free. The good news is that this time of year, if you are living in the Northern hemisphere, you are coming up to the optimum time for foraging. The hedge rows are literally laden down with fruit and we have never seen such a year for sloes and they are also quite unusually sweet, we ate a lot as we were foraging!

Of course you can forage in your own garden, for rose hips, nuts and berries if you have hedges but you can also go out into the fields and meadows. 

Remember to take a walking stick with which to gently pull down the fruit, without damage to the hedge or individual plant.
 

It's good idea is to contact your local organic farm and ask about wild fruits on their farm land. In general though, horse paddocks, pasture land, parks, canal tow paths and common land, far away from spray drift from conventional crops, make for good foraging. Below is one of our favourite paths, on the cliffs along our local coast line, too dry this year, we did better in local meadows but it was a wonderful excuse for a walk all the same.

As we really enjoyed the gluten-free version of my plum clafoutis I made a few weeks back (recipe here) , I decided to go with the same mix again. I did however, omit the coconut oil, by mistake but I don't think it needed it as the mixture of fruits carried the rich flavours on their own.

Ingredients

Whole berries and fruit halves to cover the bottom of dish

80g (3oz) of potato flour

20g ( ¾oz) of arrowroot

80g (3oz) of sugar

300ml of milk (I use raw local milk from Normandy cows, which is very rich)
2 eggs (or 4 bantam eggs)

50g (1 ¾oz) of ground almonds

Optional - raw cane for sprinkling on the fruit.

Cooking times 

30 to 40 mins or until the top is well set and golden at 180ºC or 350ºF

Preparation

Cut the rose hips in half and using a teaspoon remove the hairy seeds from the interior. These are the rose's defence system to stop birds and mammals from absorbing the seeds once consumed! The hairs are actually quite aggressive I found I needed to rinse my fingers well, after this operation. 

I then precooked the rose hips for a few minutes in a little water just to soften them slightly as they were much harder than the remainder of the fruit. 

Method

Butter your pie dish generously and place upon it, cut face downwards, the whole black berries or halves of rose hips and sloes with the stone removed. Use enough fruit to cover the base, I'm using a 22cm or 8½" circular dish with an internal depth of 30mm or 1".  I sprinkled the fruit with a little raw cane sugar, not rapadura as I thought this would be too strong a flavour.

Place all your dry ingredients in a bowl but keep back a little sugar for sprinkling on the clafoutis when it comes from the oven. Mix well.

Make a well in the mix and add eggs, incorporate by bringing the dry ingredients gradually in towards the centre. You can do this by hand or with a beater if you wish. Beat well to obtain a smooth paste.

Add milk slowly, whisking all the time to obtain an homogeneous batter. This is a thin batter - do not worry!








Pour over fruit and put immediately into the oven

When cooked the clafoutis will 'spring back' when you touch it with your finger tips and it will also be a beautiful golden brown. You can see here it has also risen more than the plum one





The clafoutis can then be sprinkled with the remaining sugar just to give it a little crunch and extra texture. You can eat it straight from the oven, but I usually have some left over for the next day. I found this one developed in flavour overnight, although we didn't actually have much left over!

Hope you enjoy this dish, again it is simple and yet delicious and the free foraged fruits, as my grandpa used to say; 'don't taste of the copper', though nowadays it's probably nickel! 

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

Please feel free to comment, ask questions and share.

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from an old farmhouse in Normandie,

Sue

Return to 'WHAT'S ON THE MENU' for more Simply Organic Recipes

© 2014 Sue Cross