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

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

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

2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder ½ cup nut flour ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg or mace 1-2 oranges or clementines or tangerines 12 Tbsp butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup plain yogurt 3 Tbsp melted butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 ¼ cup grated apple

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, nut flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg/mace.

Peel the oranges and manually remove the pith and seeds. Blend the orange flesh in a food processor to create a thick pulp, it doesn't have to be totally liquefied. You need to get 2/3 cup of orange pulp.

In a large bowl, cut the butter into the sugar, then beat them until they are creamed together. One ingredient at a time, beat in the eggs, yogurt, and orange pulp.

Spray the bottom and sides of a large cake pan. In the bottom of the pan, spread the melted butter, then evenly sprinkle the brown sugar, then evenly spread the grated apple.

Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Spread the batter evenly over the apples. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cake tests done.

Let the cake cool until it has shrunk away from the edges of the pan, then turn out up-side down onto a serving tray.

#apple #bakingpowder #brownsugar #butter #cake #cinnamon #dessert #fairyfeast #mace #nutflour #nutmeg #orange #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour #yogurt

4 ¾ cups flour 4 Tbsp olive oil 2 tsp salt 1 ½ tsp yeast 2 ¼ cups warm water olive oil coarse salt dried rosemary

Coat a 9”×13” cake pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, olive oil, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine yeast, with ½ cup warm water. When it is foamy, stir the yeast mixture and the rest of the water into the flour mixture.

Stir together and then knead for a few minutes to make a cohesive dough.

Place the dough into the can pan. Gently flatten it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

After ½ hour of rising, set the oven to 375° F.

After 1 hour of rising, poke holes all over the dough with your fingers. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and rosemary.

Bake for 28-30 minutes until golden brown.

#bread #dairyfree #oliveoil #rosemary #salt #side #vegetarian #wheatflour #yeast

2 fish fillets, boneless, 4-6 oz each Salt and pepper 2 Tbsp flour 2 Tbsp oil

The fish needs to be not frozen. Skin can be removed if desired. Use whatever kind of fish you like. Pat fish dry using paper towels. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, then flour. Spread flour over the entire surface. Flip the fish pieces over and repeat. Shake excess flour off.

Heat oil in a non stick skillet over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add fish. For thin fillets, cook for 1 ½ minutes until golden and crispy on the edges, then turn and cook the other side for 1 ½ minutes. Cook longer if you have thicker fillets.

#dairyfree #fish #main #oil #pepper #salt #wheatflour