Diet Bread (by 18th century standards)

It’s been a long time, but here’s the next recipe, and it’s from Mary Tapfield. It might surprise you that the people of the 18th century were concerned with diet, but apparently (if you dive deeper than the pies and puddings) there was an underlying responsibility to be healthy; they recognised that the use of…

Apple Tart, the Scottish Way

  The traditional tarte aux pommes of the French pâtisserie is something that always brings me back to France. On holiday last year we must have bought at least five. Sometimes we were so desperate that we picked them up from the supermarket, which must seem shocking to the French, but… needs must. I’ve always wanted to…

How to make pancakes (Lady Atkins’ way)…

Dear readers, First I must apologise profusely for not posting at all to my blog as of late. I blame it on Christmas. Anyway, here it is now. This recipe is for something very simple (I realised that a lot of the recipes I’ve posted have been far too complicated) and comes from the collection…

Mary Tapfield’s ‘Ginger Bread’ and a Christmas Fayre…

It’s been a long time since I made my post on ‘Spunge Cake‘. Hopefully I am not in disgrace. Last week I sold my wares at a Christmas Fayre (and yes, I am using the archaic spelling of the word) taking place at my old school. It was an ideal opportunity to advertise my blog…

Mary Tapfield’s ‘Spunge Cake’

It seems that Nigella was not the first Lawson to put together a recipe book. Her predecessor was Mary Lawson, born in 1773 to a Yorkshire family with a lineage that could be traced back to the sixth wife of Henry VIII- Katherine Parr. Mary Lawson married Peter Tapfield, a steward to a Duke, and…

Martin Brooke’s Rice Pudding

May I introduce you to the elusive Martin Brooke of 50 Red Lion Street, Holborn, a man who, on the 6th April 1784, began to collect ‘Recipes & Remedies’ in a leather bound book which has survived the centuries. Lamentably, I haven’t actually seen the original book, which is kept somewhere in Camden. However, I…

Lady Castlehill’s ‘Macarooms’

This is my very first recipe, and I’m eager to introduce to you the lady that has kindly collected some rather elegant recipes, some of which I plan to recreate. The lady in question is Martha Lockhart, a distinguished Scottish woman who collected recipes from 1712-1713. After the passing of her brother, Lord Castlehill, with no issue,…