Christmas Cake & Almond Icing by Mrs Beeton

Certain of Mrs Beeton's recipes are often quite simple to make as they state their measurements in cupfuls rather than ounces or pounds.  So much easier to measure and no necessity to look up the conversion chart into grams or millilitres.  And her Christmas Cake is one such recipe - to be precise it requires teacupfuls of flour, melted butter and treacle, but most cooks do have a teacup in their cupboard, usually inherited from their mother or grandmother.  So, once you have found your teacup, please try this recipe for a basic Christmas cake, flavoured with raisins.  It can then be decorated with almond icing or as pictured with glace cherries and almonds.

Christmas Cake

5 teacupfuls of flour                                                1 teaspoonful carbonate of soda
1 teacupful of melted butter                                    1 tablespoonful of vinegar
1 teacupful of cream                                               2 eggs, well-whisked
1 teacupful of moist sugar (I used brown)              1 teacupful of treacle
1/2 oz. (12g) powdered ginger                                8 oz. (225g) raisins, cut into small pieces

Pre-heat oven to 180C.  Melt the butter sufficiently warm to melt it, but do not allow it to oil.  Put the flour into a basin, add to it the sugar, ginger and raisins.  When these dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed, stir in the butter, cream, treacle and eggs.  Beat the mixture for a few minutes.  Dissolve the carbonate of soda in the vinegar, add it to the dough and be particular that these latter ingredients are well incorporated with the others.  Put the cake into a buttered mould or tin, place it into a moderate (180C) oven immediately and bake for 1 and half to 2 and a half hours.

Almond Icing

1 lb (500g) caster sugar                                            Whites of 4 eggs                                         
1 lb (500g) almonds, blanched                                 A little rosewater

Pound the almonds to a paste with a little rosewater.  Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth and mix with the almonds.  Add the sugar and beat all together.  Spread the mixture onto cake and put in oven to dry.

Christmas Gingerbread

Things have been a bit hectic for the Downstairs Cook of late, with little time to think of recipes to make for friends and family for Christmas.  Fortunately, the real Downstairs Cook took time to mark  tried and tested recipes in her copy of Mrs Beeton's Family Cookery & Household Management with an "X" and the odd comment.  Such is the case with Mrs Beeton's gingerbread which she has labelled "Very Good".  It is a simple recipe you can make from your store cupboard and produces a white gingerbread:

Gingerbread, White - INGREDIENTS: 1 lb of flour, 1/2 lb of butter, 1/2 lb of loaf sugar, the rind of 1 lemon, 1 oz of ground ginger, 1 nutmeg grated, 1/2 teaspoons of carbonate of soda, 1 gill of milk.  AVERAGE COST 1 s 3 d

Rub the butter into the flour, add the sugar which should be finely pounded and sifted, and the minced lemon-rind, ginger and nutmeg.  Mix these well together, make the milk just warm, stir in the soda and work the whole into a nice smooth paste, roll it out, cut it into cakes, and bake in moderate oven from 15 to 30 minutes.
TIME - 15 TO 20 minutes
SEASONABLE: at any time

A gill is a quarter of a pint.  For those who measure using the metric system, a pint is 568 ml.  So a quarter of a pint is 142 ml.

A nutmeg (which I've never seen in the flesh) looks to be the size of an acorn in the illustrations I've found.  Grated, it may well produce over a teaspoonful.  I'd suggest using a teaspoonful in the recipe, but since nutmeg is a rather pungent spice, it may be a bit overpowering for most.  Just season to taste and trust your nose for this flavoursome recipe.

Lemon Cheese Cakes

I came across this recipe in Mrs Beeton's book thinking they were what we call "cheesecake" today; the classic dessert made with a biscuit base and a cream cheese filling.  Instead, I found they are actually lemon tarts containing what my mother referred to as "lemon cheese", better known today as lemon curd.

A particularly buttery pastry contains the curd; I made the tarts exactly as Mrs Beeton prescribed - with puff pastry rather than the shortcrust pastry we generally use today and they went down a treat.  My next door neighbour Natasha, a professional baker from way back, was impressed.

First, make your lemon curd:

INGREDIENTS for 2 dozen cheesecakes. -  1/4  lb butter, 1 lb  of sugar, 5 eggs, the rind of 2 lemons and the juice of 3.  AVERAGE COST, 1s 2d.

Put  all the ingredients into a stewpan, carefully grating  the  lemon rind and straining the juice.     Keep stirring  the mixture over the fire until the sugar is dissolved, and it begins to thicken; when of the consistency of honey it is done; then put it into small jars and keep in a dry place. This mixture will remain good 3 or 4 months.

When made into cheesecakes, add a few pounded almonds, or candied peel, or grated sweet biscuit.

To  make the tarts:

Line some patty pans with good puff-paste, rather more than half fill them with the mixture and bake for about 1/4 hour in a good brisk oven.
TIME. - 1/4  hour.
SEASONABLE at  any time.

My suggestions for decoration: raspberries and blueberries, with a mint leaf for garnish.  (I'm sure Mrs Beeton would approve).  Serve with a dollop of cream for a dessert.