Looking for an appropriate recipe to go with Iain Pears' An Instance Of The Fingerpost
I came across New College Pudding with Sweet White Sauce - Oxford's New College is the scene of the murder which is at the heart of the book - but I thought that for the good of our health I'd pass over these suet dumplings deep fried in butter.
A little more searching took me to a recipe for Jumbals or sugar cakes, very much of the period, and using the same spices and sack as the dumplings. With a nod to the Venetian medic da Cola, the narrator of the first of the book's four parts, I substituted marsala for the sack, and omitted the egg as is suggested. I added some ground almonds to the two flours, used both caster and soft light brown sugar (again as Charlotte Betts advises - see the comments on the recipe post) and didn't skimp on the spices. Instead of rolling and cutting out rounds I pressed the mixture into a baking tin, pricked the surface with a fork and scored it to mark squares, then I baked it for 25 minutes, filling the house with a delectable fragrance.
This spicy, almondy shortbread is well worth making, and for more on the book itself click here.
I may like this more than the book ...
Posted by: Dark Puss | 23 February 2013 at 11:18 AM
I thought you might say that!
Posted by: Cornflower | 23 February 2013 at 11:23 AM
They are delicious, but missing out on "suet dumplings deep fried in butter" is a disappointment....
Posted by: Mr Cornflower | 23 February 2013 at 09:09 PM
I wonder what the good souls of Magdalen were eating while their New College chums were scoffing those dumplings?
Posted by: Cornflower | 23 February 2013 at 09:36 PM
This:
http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/magdalencollegebutter.htm
and our own venison!
Posted by: Mr Cornflower | 23 February 2013 at 09:42 PM
Of course, and many thanks for the link.
Posted by: Cornflower | 23 February 2013 at 09:44 PM