Three hundred years following the birth of James Paine, architect of The Mansion House Doncaster, a number of events are being held to commemorate the occasion. It was a great privilege to try out some Georgian/Regency baking
recipes at one of the events. I adapted a recipe from the 1826 The Cook and Housewife’s Manual by Mistress Margaret Dods.
Gingerbread
Two pounds of flour, a half pound of
brown sugar, a half pound of orange peel cut into bits, an ounce of ground
ginger, half an ounce of caraway seeds, cloves, mace, and some allspice. Mix
with these a pound and a half of treacle, and a half pound of melted butter.
Mix the ingredients well together, and let them stand for some hours before
rolling out the cakes. The paste will require a little additional flour in
rolling out. Cut the cakes, mark, the top in diamonds with a knife, and bake
them on tin plates.
Here’s my updated version for Georgian Gingerbread
175g/6oz black treacle or molasses
50g/20z butter
50g/2oz light brown sugar
250g/9oz plain flour
50g/2oz orange peel/mixed peel
1-2 teaspoonsful ground ginger
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
½ teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C fan oven. Warm the
sugar, butter and black treacle/molasses in a pan until melted. In a separate
bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Make a well in the centre of the dry
ingredients and add the sugar/butter/molasses mix. Mix well, then leave in the
fridge to cool for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1 cm,
then cut into diamond shapes. Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes.
Georgian Gingerbread
proved popular with visitors, including the Civic Mayor. The black treacle makes for a more
intense flavour and a heavier texture than the lighter Gingerbread we are more
used to. What's your take on Georgian era baking?
