I feel the need to share a recipe, I have these moments, it comes from a need to feed people. There’s nothing I like more than a load of folks sitting around my kitchen table tucking in to something warm out of the oven
Now brace yourselves, you are going to look at the list of ingredients and go “yuck!”, but trust me. This recipe has been handed down through five generations of my family, from my 2x Great Gran who was born in 1841, but for all I know it may be older than that.
I’ve had to work out the weight of ingridents, because it came down to me as “a bit of that and a handful of this and a smidgen of that.”. One day someone will tell me just how much a “smidgen” is, I’d love to know.
I did do some research and think I found something very like this in Eliza Acton’s ” Modern Cooking for Private Families” first published in 1845, so it could be that Jessie got it from there.
However it began, this is what has come down the family
500 grams of raw potato. these must be the white floury type, not the waxy salad ones.
(There’s your “yuck” moment. She promised us pudding and now she is talking spuds)
140 grams of unsalted butter
140 grams of castor sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
a pinch of salt
the grated zest of 2 lemons
the juice of one lemon
200 grams of currants
200 grams of sultanas
nutmeg, freshly grated.
Boil the potatoes in unsalted water until they are tender and then mash until they are very, very smooth.
Allow to cool for a few minutes; then beat in the butter, the lemon juice and zest, the sugar and the eggs.
The mixture will be very liquid.
Now fold in the dried fruit.
Pour everything into a well buttered baking dish and cook in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes. It should be set, but still have a slight wobble in the middle.
The original recipe doesn’t include this, but I like to sprinkle the whole thing with sugar and caramelise it. You can do this under the grill, but I’ve got a culinary blow torch and there is nothing more fun than powering ti up and torching something.
Serve in slices with or without cream. It is at its best warm, but cold is pretty good as well.
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