Dundee Cake

Below is an article on the Scottish dessert known as Dundee Cake: 


DUNDEE CAKE

For years, I have assumed there was only one kind of fruitcake. As it turned out, I was wrong.

The origin of fruitcake dates back to Imperial Rome. One form of the dessert that has developed over the years is one from Scotland called Dundee Cake. The dessert had originated in nineteenth-century Scotland, as a mass-produced cake by the marmalade company called James Keiller & Son. Keiller's claimed to be the originator of the term, "Dundee Cake", but there have been similar fruitcakes produced in Scotland . . . even before the nineteenth-century. 

Dundee Cake consists of currants, sultanas almonds and malt whiskey. Sometimes, fruit peel may be added to the recipe. The top of the cake is typically decorated with concentric circles of almonds and glace cherries in the middle of each circle. As I had stated earlier, similar fruitcakes had been produced in Scotland before the nineteenth-century. Queen Mary of Scotland preferred her fruitcake without the cherries, since she did not like the glace fruit.

The cake is sold in supermarkets throughout Great Britain today. It was also produced and marketed in India - before and after its independence from Britain in 1947 by Britannia Industries and its successor firms. However, the cake was withdrawn from Indian markets in 1980. Yet, it continued to be supplied privately as a corporate Christmas gift by the maker. Dundee Cake is traditionally purchased and served for the Christmas holidays. However, Queen Elizabeth II is reported to enjoy the dessert during afternoon tea.

Below is a recipe for Dundee Cake from The Spruce website:


Dundee Cake

Ingredients

5 1/2oz/ 150g butter, slightly softened
5 1/2oz/ 150g soft, dark brown sugar
3 large free-range eggs
Grated zest of 1 large orange
8oz/225g plain flour or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons mixed spice (Pumpkin Pie mix makes a good alternative)
1 lb/450g dried fruit - sultanas, currants, and raisins
2oz/55g candied peel, chopped
2oz/55g glace cherries, halved (optional)
1 tablespoon malt whisky (or brandy if you prefer)
115g / 4 oz whole blanched almonds


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/Gas 2.

Line an 8½"/22cm cake tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment and grease lightly with a little butter.

Place both the butter, sugar, and zest into a large roomy baking bowl. Cream the butter into the sugar until light, smooth and creamy using either a fork or electric hand whisk.

Mix the flour with the baking powder and mixed spice. Beat one egg into the creamed butter, then beat in a third of the flour. Repeat until all the eggs and flour are used up.

Add the fruits, citrus candied peel, and cherries (if using) to the mixture and stir well but gently - you don't want to flatten the cake batter too much - until all the fruits are incorporated into the mixture.

Finally, stir in the whisky using a spoon or spatula.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and gently level the surface. Cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours, then arrange the blanched almonds into circles on the top and return the cake to the oven. Cook for another hour or until the cake is a deep, golden brown.

Remove the cake from the oven and place on to a cooling rack and leave the cake to cool in the tin. Once cooled it is ready to eat.

The cake keeps well when stored in an airtight tin.


Notes on Making a Dundee Cake: 

Do not rush the baking of this cake, it is high in sugars and fruit and needs the longer slowing baking to make sure it does not burn. If you feel it is browning too quickly lower the heat, all ovens have their own idiosyncracies. 

Lasagna

Below is an article on the dish known as Lasagna: 


LASAGNA

The Italian dish known as Lasagne has been popular for years here in the United States . . . ever since the arrival of immigrants from Italy. When the recipe for Lasagne first appeared in an American cookbook, I have no idea. But I discovered, to my surprise, that there are several theories to the origin of Lasagne.

The first theory is that Lasagna originated from an Ancient Roman dish called lasana or lasanum (Latin word for "container", "pot") described in the book "De re coquinaria" by Marcus Gavius Apicius. Another theory is that the dish actually originated from an Ancient Greek dish called λάγανον (laganon). This dish was basically a flat sheet of pasta dough cut into strips.

The most popular theory is that Lasagna originated in Naples, Italy during the Middle Ages. An early recipe for this dish first appeared in the early 14th century cookbook, "Liber de Coquina (The Book of Cookery)". It bore a slight resemblance to the more modern form of Lasagna. This early recipe featured fermented dough that is flattened into a thin sheet, boiled, sprinkled with cheese and spices, and eaten with the use of a small pointed stick. 

Later recipes also written in the 15th century recommended boiling the pasta in a chicken broth and dressing it with cheese and chicken fat, or in one case walnuts. This recipe was adapted for the Lenten Fast. The more traditional form of Lasagna - Lasagne di Carnevale - consisted of local sausage, small fried meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and a Neapolitan ragù sauce. The pasta dough prepared in Southern Italy for Lasagna used semolina and water. It used flour and eggs in Northern Italy, where semolina was not available. In modern-day Italy, the dough for commercial Lasagna is made from semolina (Durum Wheat). 

Below is a modern, yet traditional recipe for Lasagna from the All Recipes website:


Easy Lasagna I Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped 
1 (4.5 ounce) canned mushrooms, drained
1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce 
1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese 
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese 
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
2 eggs 
1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles 
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese


Preparation

Reheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef until brown. Add mushrooms and onions; saute until onions are transparent. Stir in pasta sauce, and heat through.

In a medium size bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and eggs.

Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. 

Layer with uncooked lasagna noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, and meat sauce. Continue layering until all ingredients are used, reserving 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover pan with aluminum foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, and top with remaining half cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

"THE SUPERSIZERS": Eating Through History

Here is a look at a series of episodes about the history of food, mainly in Britain:


"THE SUPERSIZERS": Eating Through History



In April 2007, the BBC aired a special episode in which food critic Giles Coren and broadcaster-comedienne Sue Perkins explored the history of food during the Edwardian Age. The result was the television special called "Edwardian Supersize Me". This episode was part of a series called "The Edwardians — the Birth of Now".

Following the success of this special, the BBC commissioned a series of six episodes in which Coren and Perkins explored the history of food through six eras in British history. This series, which aired in May and June of 2008, was called "The Supersizers Go . . .". Below is a list of the episodes:

"The Supersizers Go . . ."



"Wartime"




"Restoration"




"Victorian"




"Seventies"




"Elizabethan"




"Regency"



Following the success of "THE SUPERSIZERS GO . . .", the BBC commissioned a second series of episodes featuring Coren and Perkins called "THE SUPERSIZERS EAT . . .". Here is the list of episodes from that series:


"The Supersizers Eat . . ."



"The Eighties"




"Medieval"




"The French Revolution"




"The Twenties"




"The Fifties"




"Ancient Rome"