"She shall be christened Betsy Trotwood Copperfield. She must be well brought up, I shall see to that. Far better than my impractical nephew would have done." - Aunt Betsey Trotwood - David Copperfield

I don't know who Aunt Betsey is, but she makes a mean cake. This is also in the vein of the fruity, gingerbread-y kind of cake (like the coffee cake) but a bit lighter and more golden.

A simple sugar icing adds freshness to the rich cake, and is very delicious. Mmmm mmmmm.
And just make sure you use the same size cup (a breakfast cup is about a 1/2 cup (125ml)) otherwise you could run into trouble.


AUNT BETSEY'S CAKE.

INGREDIENTS. - 5 teacupfuls of flour
2 teacupfuls of sugar
1/2 a cup of butter
1 cup of golden syrup
1 cup of water
2 eggs
1/2 a lb. of chopped raisins
1 teaspoonful (each) of bicarbonate of soda, cloves, cinnamon, and mace.

METHOD. - Beath the butter and sugar together; add the eggs, dissolve the soda in the water, then add the molasses, flour spices and fruit, and well work the mixture in  the bowl.
Turn it into a greased flat square tin baking-dish and bake in a moderate oven, or if preferred it can be cooked in small crinkled patty-pans.

TIME. - From 1 to 1 1/2 hours. SUFFICIENT for a 2-lb. cake.

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. - George Eliot

Wikipedia defines coffee cakes as "A class of cakes intended to be served with coffee or for similar breaks and snacks. Under this definition, a coffee cake doesn't need to contain coffee. (although this one does) They are typically single layer cakes that may be square or rectangular like a Stollen. Coffee cakes are typically flavored with cinnamon, nuts, and fruits. Some similarity to teacakes may be found, though teacakes are often smaller individual items served with tea."

So this coffee cake definitely qualifies. It also has the added bonus of having coffee as an ingredient as well. It is also a massive cake - MASSIVE. You may want to consider baking it in 2 smaller tins and freezing one, unless you are taking it to the footy club afternoon tea or something.

COFFEE CAKE

INGREDIENTS. - 1/2 a lb. of butter
1/2 a lb. of brown sugar
1/4 of a lb. of golden syrup
1/2 a lb. of currants
1/2 a lb. of sultanas
1 1/2 lb. of flour
1/2 an oz. of baking-powder
2 eggs
1/2 an oz. of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, mixed
coffee
a little milk

METHOD. - Sieve the baking-powder and spices with the flour into a pan; add the sugar and butter, rub well together, make a well in the centre, pour in the syrup, add about 1/4 of a pint of strong cold coffee, break in the eggs, and beat well together; then mix in the other ingredients with a strong wooden spoon using a little milk if not moist enough, mix in the fruit last, and then bake in a long square cake-pan nicely prepared.

TIME. - From 1 to 2 hours
I have added a buttercream icing but a simple glaze would probably be better, as there is so much going on in this cake. It's very fruity and a bit gingerbready, but well worth it.

Yes, men like sports. Men watch the action movie. They eat of the beef and enjoy to look at the bosoms. A thousand years of avenging our wrongs, and that's all you've learned?

Corned beef is a strange beast. I suspect it, and other corned and pickled things, were much more widespread before refrigeration was commonplace. There seems to be a significant lack of Salted pork, Corned lamb and other corned things at the butchers and supermarkets, and yet corned beef is one of the most inexpensive meats available there. (I had a look at the supermarket, and the only cheaper meats were heart, liver and 3 star mince)

This is a surprisingly easy kind of meal to cook. It would also be super easy in a slow cooker as well.



CORNED BEEF.

INGREDIENTS. - Pickeld round of beef.

METHOD. - The beef may be bought ready pickled, or pickled, and, if like, afterwards spiced according to directions given for SPICED BEEF. Put it into a stewpan with sufficient warm water to cover it, boil up, and afterwards simmer very gently until done.
If required for immediate use, allow it to remain in the water until cold, as this will improve the flavour and render the meat more juicy, but it will not keep fresh quite so long.

TIME. - To cook, 8 or 10 lb., about 3 1/2 hours.

My husband really likes this one... Really really. It's almost as good as my lamb roast (and that's saying something)

You can add a little brown sugar and some malt vinegar to the water, or apple cider, or apple cider vinegar, cloves, garlic, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns - anything you like really. Also the vegetables - carrots and parsnips and brussel sprouts can be cooked in the same pan. Just add them about 1 hour before serving.

There were no cucumbers to be had at the Covent Garden vegetable market that morning, not even for ready money!

Cucumber Sandwiches - they seems to be quintessentially British. The main staple (ha ha) of afternoon teas and delicate luncheons. I say ha ha because they are nutritionally pretty useless, and therefore only the upper classes could afford to eat something that is essentially water.

But who know there is actually a recipe for them?


Here it is:

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES.

INGREDIENTS. - 1 large cucumber
creamed butter
white or brown bread
salad-oil
lemon-juice or vinegar
salt and pepper

METHOD. - Peel the cucumber, slice it thinly, season liberally with salt, drain on a hair sieve for about 1 hour, and dry thoroughly.
Now put it into a basin and sprinkle with pepper, salad-oil, lemon-juice or vinegar, liberally or otherwise according to taste.
Have ready some thin slices of bread and butter, stamp out some rounds of suitable size, place slices of cucumber between 2 rounds of bread and press parts well together.
Dish lightly overlapping each other in a circle on a folded napkin, and serve garnished with parsley.

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf, the lion and the fatling together, and a little child to lead them.

It's actually surprisingly hard to find quotes about lamb that aren't religious... so I went with one - but I'm actually more familiar with this quote from Buffy so there you go. I also refuse to do the Twilight thing so that quote was also out -although the idea of snacking on Bella could be rather tempting.

Anyway... back to the subject, which is LAMB, of the roast kind. It is delicious. And super easy to cook... and also super easy to ruin. My favourite tool - the meat thermometer - it lets you know just when your lamb is done enough... Here's what Mrs B has to say on the subject



ROAST LAMB.

Lamb, when roasting, requires more attention that any other kind of meat. No part of it must be underdone, and to secure this result without drying and hardening the thinner portions to an undesirable degree, much care is necessary.

The intense heat to which all meat must first be subjected to for a few minutes is applied for too short a time to affect the colour of a hjoint, and the subsequent browning and over-cooking of any part may be obviated by covering the meat with 2 or 3 folds of well-greased paper, and by frequent basting.

The amount of heat applied to any part may be regulated by careful turning of the joint in the oven, and the rate of cooking by judicious use of the dampers.

See also NOTES ON ROASTING - to follow

Serve with gravy and mint sauce.

I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street. - W.H. Auden

Salmon is a popular food. Classified as an "oily fish", salmon is considered to be healthy due to the fish's high protein, high Omega-3 fatty acids, and high vitamin D content.

It also happens to be delicious. I would totally be one of those bears who fish for salmon in some remote mountain stream. Mmmm, mmm.





SALMON, BAKED

INGREDIENTS. - 2 slices of salmon
about 2. oz of butter or good dripping
1/2 a teaspoonful of chopped parsley
1 shallot
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg

METHOD. - Lay the salmon in a baking-dish, place the pieces of butter or dripping over it, and add the other ingreients, rubbing a little of the seasoning into the dish.
Baste frequently, and when done place the salmon on a dish, and serve.

TIME. - About 3/4 of an hour. SUFFICIENT for 6 persons.

"...there are times when only mashed potato will do." - Nigella Lawson

Sometimes I agree with Nigella. Sometimes I think she's just a little too excited by food. But Nigella hits the nail on the head with mashed potato. Mashed potato is essential... and as if they read my mind - an article in the Times describes all different varieties of ways to produce the perfect mashed potato.

So here's how Mrs Beeton suggests you make them. How do you make yours?





POTATOES, MASHED.

INGREDIENTS. - 1 lb. of potatoes
1 oz. of butter
1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of milk
salt

METHOD. - Peel and steam the potatoes over a saucepan of boiling water, or boil them in their skins, and afterwards peel them.
In either case, pass the potatoes through a wire sieve, or mash them well with a fork.
Heat the butter in a stewpan, add the milk, stir in the potato, and season to tastes with salt.
Beat well with a wooden spoon, pile lightly in a hot dish, then serve.

TIME. - To steam, 30 to 40 minutes. SUFFICIENT for 3 persons