Friday, August 17, 2018

Pennsic Class 2018: Gluten-Free Medieval Desserts for Modern Campers

So I taught an in-camp class at Pennsic 2018.  I had a pretty good turnout...about 12-15 people...the perfect number to eat all the results!  I made a huge mess but it was fun.  As far as I know there are no photos of the class but I thought I would share my notes here.  Much of the information is in other blog posts but the class itself was a demonstration of how you could make some yummy treats in a camp setting that most people would have access to...just a butane or propane stove is all you need!  It's also a nice composite of dessert recipes as well as my bread recipe.  ~Enjoy!


Gluten-Free Medieval Desserts for Modern Campers
By THL Isolda Fairamay

Background and Purpose of This Class:

I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005.  When I joined the SCA in 2009 I quickly discovered that feasting was going to be a challenge for me.  At that time and in my area there wasn’t a lot of consideration that went into menu planning for those with dietary challenges other than being a vegetarian or commonly known allergies such as nuts and seafood.  It didn’t seem to be a concern, not because people didn’t care, but because they were not aware.  Once people started to get to know me and hear about my dietary challenges, they started asking questions about what it meant and how to do it, so I began holding a few simple classes on gluten-free and dietary awareness.  Although sewing was my main interest when I joined the SCA, my dietary needs accidentally and quickly steered me in the direction of the kitchen. While cooking has never been my strong-suit, baking has always been a passion of mine even before I was diagnosed with celiac disease.  As it happens, I have found inspiration in re-inventing some of my own British family’s old recipes that I have discovered have at least some origin in medieval times.  Anything pastry is my favourite thing to make, but I have branched out into experimenting with other types of medieval desserts.  I even hosted a feast called “Fool’s Paradise” that was 100% gluten-free and revolved around desserts. My most recent adventure in gluten-free medieval baking was the creation of a gluten-free bread recipe that could have existed in the Middle Ages…and that was an adventure of over 30 recipe attempts!  Suffice it to say, I have done a LOT of experimentation with many many failures, but many many successes as well.  Today I hope to share some of my successes with you by demonstrating a sample of gluten-free desserts.

What’s on the Menu?

I’d love to show you everything I’ve done, but I had to choose recipes that could be done in a fairly short amount of time and that could be done in a simple camp setting.  I’m sure these could be made in a more medieval camp setting, but I want people who don’t know much about medieval camping (like me!) to be able to make something that is, if not documentable in period, gives the atmosphere of period desserts.  However, along with the recipes for the desserts being made today, I am also including a couple of other recipes in the written material that you can take home and try yourself.

 The three desserts being made today are:

1)    Honey Steamed Pudding
2)    Pan-Fried Eccles Cakes Made with Gluten-Free Pastry
3)    Egg Custard Sauce


Honey Steamed Pudding Cake:

When I was growing up my favourite dessert that my British Mum used to make us was steamed pudding with Lyles Golden Syrup.  There was no Lyle’s Golden Syrup in the Middle Ages, so my Mum’s version isn’t medieval at all.

Last summer a dear friend of mine with a Roman persona was being elevated to the Order of the Laurel.  Part of his celebration was a reception to be held that evening.  The elevation happened at Great Northeastern War so therefore it was in a camp setting.  I wanted to make something special for him and I wanted it to have a Roman theme.  Honey being widely available in Ancient Rome and medieval times, I decided to replace the Lyles Golden Syrup in my gluten-free steamed pudding recipe for honey, inspired by period documentable Roman Honey Cakes.  The thing that makes this recipe perfect for a camp setting is because it is steamed.  All you need is a butane or propane stove to make it.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup white rice flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter (I use lactose-free butter, but you can replace it with dairy free margarine)
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¼ cup milk
Small bottle of honey
Optional:  Bay leaves…I used these to decorate the honey steamed pudding I made for my friend since he was being elevated to the Order of the Laurel.


Method:

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well after adding each one. Add vanilla extract and cider vinegar. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Stir in dry ingredients into mixture, alternately with milk, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of milk. Only stir until just combined. Line medium pyrex or metal bowl with parchment paper. Pour in honey until about ¾ of the bottle is gone. Carefully pour the cake mixture over top of the honey, making sure the cake mixture covers it all…you can use a spatula to spread it to the sides. Cover the top of the bowl very well with aluminum foil. You may want to use 2 pieces. Take a large pot and put a sieve or some scrunched up pieces of foil on the bottom. Place the bowl in the pot. Fill with water up to approximately ¼ of the bowl. Cover the pot and set to boil. Once water is boiling, turn down heat until the water is just boiling. Steam for 1 hour and 15-30 minutes. Check the level of the water now and then to make sure the pot doesn’t boil dry and add water as necessary. Once done, carefully remove bowl from pot. Remove foil from top of bowl, then place your serving plate over the bowl and carefully invert it so the bowl is now upside-down on the serving plate. Carefully remove the bowl and peel away the parchment paper to reveal the honey-soaked pudding cake. Use the remainder of your honey to pour over the cake and to coat the serving plate. Decorate with bay leaves as desired. The cake may be served hot or cold with hot or cold egg custard. My favourite way to eat it is right out of the dish with hot egg custard.

Pan-Fried Eccles Cakes with Gluten-Free Pastry:

A British sweet treat mainly comprised of pastry filled with currants, Eccles Cakes, were first recorded as being sold in 1793 at a bakery shop in the Lancashire town of Eccles.  In medieval times, the church at Eccles held an annual service known as Eccles Wakes, after which a fair was held, including the consumption of Eccles cakes.  When the Puritans came to power in 1650, the wakes and cakes were banned because of their “juicy and exotic richness”.  The cakes made a comeback, thankfully, during the Restoration of the English monarchy.

Eccles Cakes Filling:

2oz brown sugar
2 oz butter (I use lactose-free.  Dairy-free margarine would work as well)
6 oz dried currants (NOT raisins!)

Gently melt the butter and brown sugar together.  Stir in currants.  Let cool before filling the pastry.

Isolda’s No-Fail Gluten Free Pastry:

Adapted from Pie Pastry recipe found in 125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt

This recipe is my “no-fail” pastry recipe that I use for all of my pies, tarts and hand pies.  Seriously, the page in the recipe book that it originates is a mess of food stains and literally falling out of the book!  It can be made with all butter, all shortening, a combination of both, or all dairy free margarine to suit your guests’ needs.  I find that if you use shortening or margarine you need to decrease the amount you use compared to butter or the pastry will become too sticky. For Eccles Cakes, an all butter pastry is best for taste.

1 cup rice flour
1 cup corn starch
½ cup tapioca flour/starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (I use lactose-free.)
1/3 cup ice water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 egg yolks
*Extra rice flour for rolling

Mix dry ingredients together.  Add butter and using a fork or two knives, cut in until mixture is crumbly.  You can also rub it between your fingers to crumble the mixture.  Mix the wet ingredients together with a fork and then pour into the dry mix.  Mix with a fork until mixture starts to stick together and you can then use your hands to form it into a dough ball.  For rolling, using two pieces of parchment paper, sprinkle some rice flour on the bottom piece, place your dough to be rolled on top, sprinkle a little more rice flour on top, then cover with the second piece of parchment paper.  Roll dough to the thickness desired.  To easily transfer to a pie plate, peel the top piece of parchment from the rolled dough, sprinkle with rice flour, replace parchment paper on top, then turn the whole thing over so you can peel the remaining piece of parchment paper off.  place your pie plate upside-down on the rolled pastry and then carefully turn it over using the bottom parchment to hold it.  Peel the parchment off and carefully press pastry into pie shell. If any bits fall off, just press in some extra bits into your “holes”. Fill shell and top with second piece of pastry and use a fork or fingers to secure together around the edge.  Prick and bake using your recipe’s directions for the pie filling.   This recipe will be enough for one complete pie.

Making Up the Eccles Cakes:

Using an appropriate size cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut out as many pastry discs as the recipe will allow.  There are two methods to constructing an Eccles Cake.  1)  The traditional method is to place a spoonful of the Eccles Cake filling into the middle of a pastry disc leaving a good amount of room around the edges.  Using your fingers, bring up the sides of the dough into the centre and pinch together to form a pouch.  Turn the pouch over on a parchment lined baking sheet and gently flatten.  Using a knife or kitchen scissors, cut 3 slots in the top.  2) Alternatively, you can place spoonful of Eccles Cake filling into the centre of a pastry disc and cover with a second pastry disc.  Secure the discs together around the edges with a fork or by pinching them together.  Using a knife or kitchen scissors, cut 3 slots in the top.
*If you are baking these at home in a regular oven, it is important to PRE-HEAT the oven to 450F.  Place Eccles Cakes on a parchment lined baking sheet.  If you have time, chill the prepared Eccles Cakes.  Once the oven it up to temperature, bake for approximately 20 minutes, until they are crusty and slightly browned on the bottom.  The filling will likely leak out somewhat and may smoke so don’t abandon your oven!  Remove from oven and place on cooling racks.  Let cool somewhat, then sprinkle with superfine sugar.  DO NOT eat these straight from the over or you WILL burn your mouth!  I recommend waiting at least 10 minutes.

Pan-Fried Eccles Cake Method:

For the pan-fried version of Eccles Cakes I recommend using the second method of making them up since they will likely stay together better.  Also, I would omit the step where you cut 3 slots into the top since you will have filling leak out of your Eccles Cakes in the pan and it will be a huge mess.

To pan-fry, heat a little butter in a non-stick pan to a medium-high heat.  Carefully place 3-4 Eccles Cakes in the pan.  Let them sit for a bit then carefully turn them over.  You may need to add more butter to the pan.  Turn the heat down slightly and cover the pan.  Keep turning the cakes and checking for browning until they look done.  Remove from pan and place on a plate or cooling rack to cool.  Sprinkle with superfine sugar.

The results of a pan-fried Eccles Cake will be a little cakey and won’t be as crunchy as an oven-baked Eccles cake, and they may tend to fall apart easier, but the taste is there.  Believe me, they won’t last long!  You can use other desired fillings to make different types of pan-fried pastries as well.  Your imagination is your only limit!


Egg Custard Sauce:

When my mother used to make steamed pudding with Lyle’s Golden Syrup she always made Bird’s Custard sauce to go with it.  Since Bird’s Custard Powder is not from medieval times, I had to find another method. It’s not difficult to find recipes for custard from the Middle Ages.  Most recipes you will find are in the form of pies, but there is a recipe for sauce that rivals Bird’s Custard any day!

Crème Boiled:   Adapted from a 15th century recipe book called Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books:

Crème boiled. ¶ Take mylke, and boile hit; And þen̄ take yolkes of eyren̄, and try hem fro the white, and drawe hem thorg a streynour, and cast hem into þe mylke; and then̄ sette hit on̄ þe fire, and hete hit hote, and lete not boyle; and stirre it wel til hit be som̄-what thik; And caste thereto sugur and salte; and kut þen̄ faire paynmain soppes, and caste the soppes there-on̄, And serue it in maner of potage

Translation:  Take milk and boil it; And take yolks of eggs, and separate them from the white, and draw them through a strainer, and cast them into the milk; and then set it on fire, and get it hot, and let not boil; and stir it well until it be somewhat thick; and add sugar and salt; and cut good bread into pieces, and add the pieces into it, and serve it in manner of potage (I interpret this as a thick blended dish).

Isolda’s Custard Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk or cream
5 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar (For a honey custard, reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons and add 2 tablespoons of honey)
Pinch salt

Method:

Heat milk in a sauce pan (if you have a double boiler, use that) to a point when the milk begins to scald.  Remove from heat.  Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl with sugar until thick and creamy.  Very slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly until the eggs are tempered so they do not coddle.  Pour mixture back into saucepan.  Heat slowly on low to medium heat, stirring constantly (do not boil) until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into the serving bowl to filter out any egg that may have congealed.  Serve hot or cold.  Yields just over 2 cups. *For a dairy free option, this sauce has been attempted with So Nice For Coffee dairy free alternative and the results were very tasty.  I have tried it with coconut milk, but the results were a complete disaster!


More Recipes to Try When You Get Home:

Honey Saffron Applesauce

This recipe I created and served as part of dessert at our Ruantallan Baronial Investiture Anniversary in 2016.  (Head Cook:  Mistress Gwenhwyfar Emrys) This is another recipe that can easily be made in a camping environment.

9 lbs apples
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups honey
¾ cup lemon juice
6 pinches salt
3 pinches saffron

Mix water, lemon juice, salt and saffron in a large pan.  Peel, core and chop apples into cubes right into the mixture.  Add honey.  Cook over low-medium heat, covered, and stirring occasionally to break up the apples for 20-30 minutes until apples are soft.  Let cool.  If the consistency of the sauce is too lumpy for your taste, use a hand mixer to break it up or mash the lumps with the back of a slotted spoon.  Makes approx. 12 cups

Isolda’s Shrewsbury Cakes:

The first thing to know about Shrewsbury Cakes is that they are not really cakes at all, they are cookies, or biscuits. Made with flour, sugar and butter, they are very much like shortbread cookies and are known for being flavoured with spices and/or rosewater. The book entitled The Taste of Britain by Laura Mason and Catherine Brown suggests Shrewsbury Cakes were first documented in the 1500’s, referring to their crisp and brittle texture.  Specifically, there appears to be reference to Shrewsbury Cakes in 1596 when, due to a shortage of grain, there was a ban on making these “fine cakes” in Shrewsbury. There are several literary references to Shrewsbury Cakes including many cookbooks. One of the most notable and early literary references to the crisp and brittle texture of these biscuits comes from Lord Herbert of Cherbury when writing to his guardian, Sir George More in 1602:  “…it is a kind of cake which our country people use and made in no place in England but in Shrewsbury…”  This reference to Shrewsbury, a town in the county of Shropshire, England, is very likely the origin of the name of these delicious cookies.  Since then, the Shrewsbury Cake name has gained in fame and is a well known cookie in Britain, with many flavour variations used including rosewater, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon or orange, and even dried fruit.

Of course, my Shrewsbury Cakes are gluten-free!

Ingredients:

1 lb finely ground rice flour
8 oz butter
8 oz caster sugar (known as superfine sugar or special fine sugar)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg lightly beaten

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in butter and rub through fingers until mixture resembles peas.  Add just enough egg to bring dough together (you need less than you think!).  Roll between two pieces of parchment paper VERY thin.  Cut into desired shape (the circle is the traditional shape).  Bake at 325 F for 5-8 minutes until crisp.  Yields approximately 150 biscuits.  (Shapes come out better if refrigerated for a time before baking.  It is also possible to freeze cut shapes ahead of time for easier prep.)

 Tart de Bry

Brie as a cheese can be traced back to the Middle Ages.  It is said that Emperor Charlemagne pronounced brie as “one of the most marvellous foods”.  The recipe for Tart de Bry calls for “chese ruayn”.  Many historians believe it means a soft English cheese made of “rewain” grass but considering the title of the recipe, others have deduced that it could mean the cheese could be FROM Reuil in Brie ie.  “Reuil-an”.  Either way, who wouldn’t want brie in a tart, all melty and yummy?

Original Recipe Found in Pleyn Delit (Hieatt and Bulter, 1390):
174. Tart de Bry. Take a crust ynche depe in a trap. Take yolkes of ayren rawe & chese ruayn & medle it & þe yolkes togyder. Do þerto powdour gynger, sugur, safroun, and salt. Do it in a trap; bake it & serue it forth.

Isolda’s Châteaux de Brie (Brie Castles)

My gluten-free redaction for this recipe was another item on my menu for my “Fool’s Paradise” event.  I wanted to include some subtleties so I made these tarts to look like castles and decorated them with tiny banners made with toothpicks and triangle shaped pieces of paper with our Baronial and Canton devices on them.

Ingredients:
One recipe of Gluten-Free Pastry
6 egg yolks
6-8 oz brie, rind trimmed, cheese chopped into very small pieces
Pinch ginger
Pinch salt
Pinch saffron
¼ cup sugar (optional…if you want a savoury tart, leave out the sugar)

Beat the yolks until creamy yellow, with sugar if using it, otherwise beat them on their own.  Add salt, ginger and saffron.  Beat brie in a separate dish as smooth as you can.  Beat egg mixture and brie together.  For “Châteaux de Brie” (castles), line cupcake tins with cupcake liners.  Cut the pastry into castle turret shapes. Cut the outside of the castle shape first, line the sides of the tart shell and pinch overlapping ends together.  Cut out circles and place them in the bottom of the tart shell making sure there is enough overlapping the edge upwards. One filling recipe yields approximately 12-16 tarts.  Bake 375 F for approximately 20 minutes…watch for browning.  You can also simply fill a pie shell with the filling but it may need longer baking time.

Gingerbread:

Medieval gingerbread is nothing like the modern day gingerbread cookies we have come to love today other than the addition of ginger, although other spices were used as well in medieval times.  Medieval gingerbread is a mixture of honey, breadcrumbs and spices with addition of saffron or powdered sandalwood for colour and results in something of a candy or other confection.   It was often made into shapes using wooden moulds and the gingerbread was often gilded with gold leaf.
My version basically replaces regular bread-crumbs with gluten-free bread crumbs. The most important thing to know is DO NOT use the pre-packaged gluten free bread crumbs.  They don’t have the correct consistency and some have added cornmeal which doesn’t give you the results you want at all.  My preference is to use Udi’s gluten free white bread or burger buns left out on the counter for about 2-3 days until they’re stale and then break them up and grind them in a blender.

Isolda’s Gluten-Free Gingerbread People:

3-4 oz honey
4 Udi’s Gluten Free White Sliced Bread, stale and broken into very fine pieces
½ -1 teaspoon of ground ginger (to your taste)
¼ - ½ teaspoon of cinnamon (to your taste)
Rice Flour for Rolling Out

Bring the honey to a boil on medium heat.  Add spices.  While stirring, add breadcrumbs gradually until the mixture becomes thick and stiff but workable.  Let cool slightly until mixture can be handled with bare skin.  It will thicken upon cooling but if it is still too runny, you can add more breadcrumbs while on low heat.  Turn mixture onto a piece of parchment paper.  Add another piece of parchment on top and roll out to desired thickness.   Cut the gingerbread into desired sizes and work into desired shapes.  The use of a cookie cutter is helpful but you can mould it into very cool designs with your hands!  They are quite sweet and gingery, so I would suggest not making any pieces larger than 1-2 inches perimeter.  Cool in the fridge and store in a covered tin…use pieces of parchment paper for each layer of gingerbread pieces so they don’t stick together.  Although it would be a sticky mess, this mixture would make a great children’s activity…children can mould pieces into shapes they like and decorate them.

Bonus…here’s my gluten-free leavened medieval bread recipe!

Isolda Fairamay’s Gluten-Free Leavened Medieval Bread Recipe:


2 tablespoons lard, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon yeast
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons hot water
¼ cup hot water
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 oz garbanzo/fava flour
2 oz millet flour
2 oz rice flour
1 oz ground flax


Method:  Mix garbanzo/fava, millet and rice flours together with salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix melted lard with ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of hot water and stir in the ground flax.  Meanwhile, mix the honey with ¼ cup hot water and sprinkle the yeast over it and stir a little.  Let stand for about 5 minutes.  Stir the flax mixture with the yeast mixture together then add to the dry ingredients.  Beat with a fork or spoon until the mixture comes together and for as long as your arms can stand mixing.  Place into a parchment lined metal dish, cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for approximately 40 minutes.  On the stovetop, prepare a pot with a pressure cooker rack (metal sieve with holes in it), a sieve that will fit in the bottom of your pot or simply crumple up some aluminum foil to make a place for your baking bowl to sit on.  Pour enough water in so that it will come up about a quarter of the way up the side of your baking bowl when the bowl is set in and bring to boil.  Remove the plastic wrap from the baking bowl and cover it securely with aluminum foil.  Place bowl in prepared pot, cover and steam for about 60 minutes.  Remove from dish and place onto a cooling rack, cover lightly with a tea towel and let rest for 10-20 minutes before cutting.
*I have since made buns using this recipe by using a foil cake pan, lining it with parchment and then setting blobs of the batter in it…approximately 6 will fit in the pan.  Turned out very well!

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