Recipe from Country contentments, or The English huswife. by Gervase Markham, published 1623. Above you can see a scan of the original text. The book can be read at archive.org. This is known to be the oldest found recipe for pound cake.

Very unusual for a historic recipe to have specific quantities listed, so that is helpful. I based my baking instructions on an analysis of the recipe found on cupcakeproject.com.

I cut the recipe in half because it is huge, and I used only whole eggs, for the sake of convenience. To be more medieval, the flour should be whole wheat but soft and finely milled. (I used to be able to buy whole wheat pastry flour. It was perfect for medieval recipes. I miss it.) The sugar should be raw sugar, or brown sugar if that is more available. Sugar was crystallized in this time period, but from what I can tell it was another 100 years or so before sugar was so purified that it resembles the white granulated sugar of today.

½ lb flour ½ lb sugar 6 eggs ¼ oz fennel seeds or star anise ¼ oz coriander 1/8 oz dried orange peel or fresh orange zest

Grind the fennel/star anise, coriander, and orange peel in a mortar with a pestle, until the spices are as fine as you can get them. Remove any remaining large pieces.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and spices.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture while beating on medium-high speed with an egg beater or stand mixer. Continue to beat for 10-20 minutes (my egg beater was getting worryingly hot at 10 minutes, so I stopped).

Grease a 9”-10” circular cake pan and preheat oven to 350° F. Bake cake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

#anise #cake #coriander #dairyfree #dessert #egg #fairyfeast #fennel #historical #orangezest #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour

2 cups spinach, cooked or frozen ¼ cup dried fruit ½ cup warm milk 3 cups flour 2 tsp instant yeast 1 tsp salt 1-2 tsp herbs or spices as desired 2 Tbsp oil 1 egg

If your spinach is frozen, warm it up before mixing. Combine the spinach, dried fruit, and milk in a blender and puree until smooth. You need 1 ½ cups of puree (add more milk if necessary).

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and seasoning. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with the oil.

Stir the spinach mixture and egg mixture into the flour mixture. Knead it thoroughly. It will seem dry but the spinach will continue releasing moisture as it is kneaded, so don't add more liquid until you're sure it needs it.

Put the dough in a bowl coated in oil, cover it, and let rise until doubled (about 45-60 minutes).

Lightly knead the dough, then form it into rolls and place on a baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled. While rising, preheat oven to 375° F.

Bake for 17-20 minutes.

#bread #driedfruit #egg #fairyfeast #milk #oil #roll #salt #side #spices #spinach #vegetarian #yeast

1 cup sugar ¾ cup flour 2/3 cup cocoa powder ½ cup powdered sugar ¾ tsp salt 2 eggs ½ cup vegetable oil 2 Tbsp water or fruit juice ½ tsp almond extract Optional: ½ cup mix-ins (chocolate chips, fruit, nuts, marshmallows, etc)

Preheat oven to 325° F. Line an 8” cake pan with baking parchment and spray the parchment with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until mixed. It is a very thick batter. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread it out with a spatula.

Bake for 30 minutes if your pan is a little larger. For smaller pans (thicker brownies) go up to 40-45 minutes. If a toothpick comes out mostly clean, it is done. It's better to take them out of the oven sooner than later, as they will repose and firm further in the hot pan.

#almondextract #cocoa #dairyfree #dessert #egg #fruitjuice #oil #powderedsugar #salt #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour

1 ½ cups sugar ½ cup butter ½ cup coconut oil or shortening 2 eggs 2 ¾ cups flour 2 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Chop the butter into small cubes and combine with 1 ½ cups sugar, coconut oil/shortening, and eggs in large bowl. Use an egg beater to cream the ingredients together.

Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, stirring until it forms a dough that sticks together. It may take a few minutes to mix in the chunks of butter.

In a small bowl, stir together the ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon.

Shape dough into small balls. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with baking parchment.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. It is ok if they don't look completely baked. They will repose on the hot sheet and will stay soft instead of getting dry and crispy from baking longer. Place the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool.

#bakingsoda #butter #cinnamon #coconutoil #cookie #creamoftartar #dessert #egg #flour #salt #shortening #sugar #vegetarian

4 cups gluten-free flour mix 2 tsp sugar 2 Tbsp baking powder 2 tsp salt ½ cup butter ¾ cup sour cream ¾ cup water 1 large egg (or 2 small eggs) extra butter, softened

In a large bowl, whisk together the GF flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into the mixture until there are no large chunks of butter.

In a medium bowl, beat together the sour cream, water, and egg. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture.

Sprinkle GF flour onto your work surface, then put out he dough and knead it lightly to bring it together. Roll it into a slab about ½” thick. Cut out circles of dough, I used a 3” cookie cutter. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Brush the tops of the biscuits with softened butter.

Place biscuits in freezer and set the oven to heat to 450° F. Once it has heated, bake the biscuits for 18-20 minutes, until the tops and bottoms are lightly golden brown.

Serve warm or let cool on a rack.

#bakingpowder #biscuit #bread #butter #egg #gfflour #glutenfree #salt #sourcream #sugar #vegetarian

2 cups flour, or a gluten-free flour mix ½ cup sugar ½ tsp salt 2 ½ tsp baking powder ½ cup butter, frozen ¼ cup sour cream ¼ cup milk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 2/3 cup rolled oats 1/3 cup sliced almonds extra milk

Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter and cut it into the flour mix until there is no dry powder.

Whisk milk, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Pour over the flour mixture, add the oats and almonds, then stir to combine.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Dump the dough onto the sheet and press it together into a ball, then press it into a thick, flat disk. Use a dough cutter to cut it into 8 wedges. Pull them apart from each other. Brush the tops with the extra milk. Put the pan into the fridge or freezer while the oven is heating.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Bake for 18-25 minutes.

#almond #bakingpowder #butter #dessert #egg #gfflour #glutenfree #milk #oats #salt #scone #snack #sourcream #sugar #vanilla #vegetarian #wheatflour

2 ½ cups flour 2 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt ½ cup butter 3 eggs 2/3 cup buttermilk 2/3 cup grated sharp cheddar ¼ cup chopped chives ¼ cup grated sharp cheddar (to top scones)

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter. Stir in the cheddar and chives.

Whisk 2 eggs and combine with the buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just moist.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead lightly. Cut dough in half. Roll each half into a circle about ¾” thick. Cut each circle into 4 wedges. Whisk remaining egg in a small dish and brush on top of the scones.

Let the scones rest for about 10 minutes before baking. Sprinkle each scone with about a Tbsp of grated cheddar.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

#bakingpowder #biscuit #butter #buttermilk #cheddar #cheese #chive #egg #salt #scone #side #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour

1 ½ cups flour ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup rolled oats ¼ cup butter 1/3 cup milk 1 egg Sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and oats. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, beat together milk and egg yolk, then stir into flour mixture.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ½” thick. Cut out biscuits with a 1 ½” round cutter. Reroll the dough and cut more biscuits. At this size, the recipe should make about 18 biscuits.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place biscuits on it.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white. Brush the tops of the biscuits with egg white, and top with sliced almonds.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

#almond #butter #cookie #dessert #egg #milk #oats #scone #side #snack #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour

Crust: 1 ½ cups flour or a gluten-free flour mix ½ cup nut flour ¼ cup honey ½ cup butter

Filling: ¼ cup corn starch 2 Tbsp honey 1 tsp baking powder 1 lb plums 4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13” cake pan.

Stir together the flour and nut flour. Cut honey and butter into the flour until there is no more fine powder and it can be pressed together into dough. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

When the crust is baking, remove the stones from the plums, then combine the corn starch, honey, baking powder, plums, and eggs in a blender. Blend until liquefied.

Pour the filling over the hot crust, and bake for 20-25 more minutes.

#almondmeal #bakingpowder #butter #cornstarch #dessert #egg #gfflour #glutenfree #honey #nutflour #pie #plum #vegetarian #wheatflour

1 cup water ½ cup butter ¼ cup sugar ½ tsp salt 2 ¼ tsp yeast 1 egg 3 cups flour

Add ½ cup water, butter, and ¼ cup flour to a saucepan. Heat on medium heat until butter melts. Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt, stir until dissolved.

In a small bowl, beat the egg.

Add yeast, egg, and remaining water to mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly. Stir in the rest of the flour until totally combined.

Cover bowl with greased foil and place in the refrigerator for 6-48 hours.

When ready to bake, remove dough from the refrigerator. Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece between your hand and the counter, working your hand in a flat, circular motion.

Place rolls on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for one hour.

While rolls rise, preheat oven to 425° F. Bake rolls for 18-25 minutes, until golden-brown.

#bread #butter #egg #roll #salt #side #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour #yeast