Saturday 22 June 2019

Cook's in charge in the Great Kitchen


In Edwardian times, every large house had a Great Kitchen where the cook was in charge. At Cusworth Hall in 1901, the Great Kitchen was the domain of Eliza Haddrill, a 47 year old lady from Berkshire. She would meet her mistress, Lady Isabella every morning to decide the menus for the day and with the help of the kitchen maids, prepare meals for the family and servants.
On the recent Servants’ Day, I got dressed up as Eliza to bake some recipes for the visitors which the Servants might have eaten.  I made a Slab Cake. This is a light fruit cake which has no additional spices in the recipe so it retains a simplicity which the servants would have enjoyed. 
What you need to bake Slab Cake…
225g/8oz butter
225g/8oz sugar
5 eggs (beaten)
275g/10oz plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
110g/4oz ground almonds
225g/8oz sultanas
110g/4oz glace cherries
110g/4oz walnuts

How to bake …
Pre heat the oven Mark 2, 300F, 150C. Grease and line a 23 cm/9 inch square cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs gradually. Mix together the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, fruit and walnuts. Add these to the creamed mixture. Bake for 1½ - 2 hours.
 
Meryl says : This was one of Grandma Abson’s recipes which she would have made at Oakleigh when she was a cook in service in Edwardian times. This cake got the thumbs up with the visitors, alongside the Ground Rice CakeI hope you enjoy it too!


Tuesday 11 June 2019

Servants Day at Cusworth Hall


We know that at the beginning of the Edwardian era in 1901, Cusworth Hall was a grand establishment. There were 11 servants living in the Hall, including the housekeeper, butler, cook, kitchen maid, a scullery maid and 2 housemaids and many others were employed in the house and on the estate. The cook would need to provide food for all these employees as well the family and guests at the house. 

This year, Servants' Day included visits to the Servants Quarters and the Great Kitchen. I baked some of the recipes which the servants might have eaten during their daily routine. They would gather at 11.00 in the Servants Hall for morning tea and to receive instructions. The cakes the cook provided for them would have been plain, made with cheaper ingredients so I think Ground Rice Cake would have been a popular choice.
What you need …
4 eggs
225g/8oz butter
225g/8oz sugar
225g/8oz self-raising flour
225g/8oz ground rice
Few drops lemon extract or zest of 1 lemon

How to bake …
Preheat the oven to 325F, Mark 3, 170 C. Separate the egg whites and whisk well. Beat the yolks and butter to a cream with the sugar and then mix with the flour and ground rice. Fold in the egg whites. Add the lemon zest or extract. It may be flavoured with almond extract instead of lemon. Put the mixture in a lined loaf tin. Bake for approximately 1 hour.
Meryl says : Visitors to the Hall enjoyed trying out Ground Rice Cake. It reminded some of them of Ground Rice Pudding. Others liked the lemon taste and the distinct grainy texture of Ground Rice. Try it at home and see what you think. I'll be adding another recipe from Servants' Day soon so look out for Slab Cake!